GoodGuys2GreatMen Video Podcast

How to BE a More Confident Man (It Starts With This)

Dan Dore & Steve Horsmon • 4m 50s • 16 January 2021

Book a free 90 minute strategy call →
How to BE a More Confident Man (It Starts With This)
Video overview: When your marriage, work, family or health gets shaken, the real test is not whether you can control everything around you. The real test is whether you know who you are when life stops cooperating. If you don’t have that clear sense of yourself, every crisis starts telling you who you are — and that’s a dangerous way for a man to live.

If you’re going through some kind of struggle right now, I want you to hear this clearly.

The most valuable thing you can have is not the perfect plan.

It’s not the right technique, the right words, the right book, the right expert or the right five-step process to get life back under control.

It’s a clear sense of who you are.

That may sound simple, but it’s not small. In fact, when a man is in crisis, it may be the most stabilizing thing he has.

Because when life gets hard, your mind gets loud. Your marriage starts falling apart and suddenly you’re not just a husband in pain. You start wondering if you’re a failure. Your wife pulls away and suddenly you’re not just feeling rejected. You start wondering if you’re unlovable. Work gets shaky and suddenly you’re not just facing pressure. You start questioning your value as a man.

That’s how fast it happens.

The circumstances arrive, and if you don’t already know who you are, those circumstances will start naming you.

Divorce says, “You failed.”

Rejection says, “You’re not enough.”

Health problems say, “You’re weak.”

Money pressure says, “You’re behind.”

Conflict says, “You’re the problem.”

And if you don’t have something deeper inside you, you start believing every one of those voices.

I’ve seen this in men for years. Good men. Smart men. Successful men. Men who know how to handle responsibility, make money, solve problems and take care of everybody around them.

But when the emotional storm hits, they lose themselves.

They don’t just feel pain. They become the pain. They don’t just feel fear. They become fear-driven. They don’t just face uncertainty. They start acting like uncertainty means they have no ground under their feet.

That’s why I care so much about helping a man define who he is.

Not what he owns.

Not what she thinks of him.

Not what his job title says.

Not whether his wife is warm today.

Not whether his kids are happy with him.

Not whether his body is cooperating, his bank account is strong or his future looks predictable.

Who are you beneath all of that?

What kind of man are you choosing to be when life doesn’t hand you the conditions you prefer?

That’s the question.

And brother, it’s not a fluffy question. It’s not some cute personal development exercise. It’s the foundation of confidence.

Because confidence is not walking around feeling great all the time. Confidence is not being certain things will go your way. Confidence is not getting everyone’s approval and finally relaxing because nobody is upset with you.

Real confidence is knowing, “I can meet this moment as the man I choose to be.”

That changes everything.

If your wife is distant, you don’t have to become needy, bitter or collapsed. You can choose to be honest, calm and warm.

If your work is stressful, you don’t have to become reactive, angry or shut down. You can choose to be steady, focused and responsible.

If your health is scaring you, you don’t have to pretend you’re not afraid. You can choose to be courageous, present and open to support.

That’s what knowing who you are does.

It gives you a place to stand.

Most men don’t have that place. They were never taught to build it. We were taught to produce, provide, perform and keep moving. We were taught to measure ourselves by outcomes. Did we win? Did we fix it? Did we make her happy? Did we earn enough? Did we avoid failure?

So when the outcomes go sideways, the man goes sideways with them.

That’s a miserable way to live.

In this video, I’m talking about why your identity matters so much when you’re under pressure. I’m talking about how a clear sense of yourself helps you stop reacting like a man who is being dragged around by circumstances. I’m also sharing something from my own life because this isn’t theory for me.

I’ve had to practice this too.

I’ve had to ask myself, “Who am I going to be in this? What do I stand for here? What kind of man do I want to bring to this moment?”

Not after everything gets easy.

Now.

That’s where the work counts.

A man who knows who he is can still hurt. He can still grieve. He can still feel scared, disappointed, angry or unsure. This is not about becoming numb or pretending you’re above the mess of real life.

It’s about not letting the mess define you.

It’s about becoming the kind of man who can walk through difficulty without abandoning himself.

That’s what your wife feels. That’s what your kids feel. That’s what your friends, coworkers and family feel. They don’t need you to be perfect. They need to feel that you have a center.

You need to feel it too.

Because without that center, you’ll keep looking outside yourself for proof that you’re okay. You’ll need her affection to feel worthy. You’ll need work to be stable to feel safe. You’ll need everyone else to calm down before you can calm down.

That puts your confidence in the hands of life’s weather.

And life’s weather changes every day.

This video will help you start looking at confidence in a deeper way. Not as a mood. Not as a performance. Not as a personality trait some lucky men have and others don’t.

Confidence begins with identity.

Who are you?

What do you stand for?

How do you want to show up when it’s hard?

When you start answering those questions honestly, you stop being so easy to knock over. You stop waiting for life to settle down before you become the man you respect. You stop outsourcing your strength to circumstances.

And right now, if you’re in a crisis, that may be exactly what you need most.

Not a quick fix.

A place to stand.

Find your place to stand

If life feels heavy right now and you’re not sure who you’re becoming in the middle of it, we can help you slow down and get clear. You don’t have to figure yourself out alone — sometimes a man needs other men to help him see the strength he’s forgotten.

Talk to a coach →

About the Hosts

Steve Horsmon & Dan Dore | Certified Professional Men’s Coach

Steve Horsmon and Dan Dore have spent over a decade supporting good men who are confused, frustrated, and afraid that their marriages and families are falling apart with no idea what to do about it. We've both experienced the same emotions that you're going through now. We know what it feels like to try all the mainstream try harder, be nicer advice while watching things continue to get worse. And that's exactly why Goodguys2Greatmen exists. Since 2012, we've coached thousands of men through some of the hardest periods of their lives; marriage breakdown, emotional distance, sexless relationships, fears of divorce or separation. We focus on practical solutions to help you survive some of the most challenging and painful experiences that a man can go through. This podcast is for men who are done waiting for their life and relationships to improve and are ready to make some bold decisions so that you become more calm and confident and start moving toward what you really want.