All dads (and moms too) are olympic-level multitaskers. Over the course of any given day they are able to spin a staggering variety of plates. They are able to manage the twin responsibilities of work and home. They are able to put in the hours to put food on the table while also clawing back enough time to play with their kids and somehow still have a social life. They can make a scrumptious dinner while also helping the youngest with her math homework. All this and they’re still able to lead rich inner lives inside their heads…
But what is it that occupies the thoughts of most dads? Sex? Politics? Sports? Movies? Comic books? Food? Sex? Money? Food? Career? Sex? Video games? Food? The average dad’s mind is pulled this way and that throughout the course of the day… But the sad fact is that most dads aren’t thinking enough about these potentially important things…
Their retirement
We’re all more than aware of our own mortality. We know that we won’t be young (or young-ish) forever. Yet, something about that sits ill with all of us, especially men. When we do consider our futures, it’s usually in very abstract terms. We don’t think all that much about preparing for our retirement or even our demise. To protect our families, however, we need to confront both. Whether it’s consulting Federal Retirement Services to get the right retirement savings set up for you, or seeing a lawyer about making your will it behoves you to have some less than comfortable thoughts about the future. Don’t worry, you’ll feel a lot better having done it!
Their prostates
All tucked away somewhere unmentionable, it’s easy to understand why we don’t give all that much though to our prostates. However, prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of the dread disease in men and can be fatal. The good news, however, is that the 5 year survival rate for men with prostate cancer is almost 100%. As uncomfortable as the thought may be, booking a doctor for a prostate check as part of your regular checkup could be the most important thing you ever do.
Their feelings
Men are very good at compartmentalizing their feelings, but dads everywhere do themselves and their families a disservice when they put their feelings in a box and bury them in the furthest reaches of their subconscious. Whether it’s through talk therapy or simple quiet reflection, we should not shy away from our feelings, but grapple with them, get to the root causes and implement actionable strategies to prevent them from getting the better of us.
It’s a skill that takes some getting used to but it’s infinitely preferable to letting bottled up emotions blow up in your face.
The environment
If you eat meat, drink milk, throw all of your waste in landfill and drive to the grocery store even when it’s within walking distance every day, the chances are that you’re not thinking enough about the environment. The trouble is that this lack of consideration can lead to a mess that may be too late to un-make by the time out kids’ generation is old enough to grapple with it. Indeed, no less a personage than the late Stephen Hawking theorized that unless we mend our ways we could render the planet uninhabitable within 100 years.
Thoughts are just like any other task… It’s the ones that aren’t always easy or pleasant which can often be the most necessary.
