The Idea of Manhood Michael Andrews

In this episode, Mike reflects on his recent accomplishment of defending his dissertation and earning his doctorate. He shares his feelings of imposter syndrome and the struggle to accept the honor and recognition that comes with this achievement. Mike discusses the importance of acknowledging personal accomplishments and the difficulty of being honored as a man, particularly as a black man. He uses this podcast as a form of therapy and processing his thoughts in real-time.

Keywords:

accomplishment, imposter syndrome, honor, recognition, personal growth, acceptance, therapy

Takeaways:


Imposter syndrome can affect even those who have achieved significant accomplishments.
Acknowledging personal accomplishments and accepting recognition can be challenging.
Being honored as a man, particularly as a black man, can be a complex experience.
Using platforms like podcasts can serve as a form of therapy and a way to process thoughts and emotions.

In this episode, Mike reflects on the complexities of parenting older children and the lack of public narrative about raising teenagers and young adults. He discusses how social media has narrowed the gap between generations and the challenges of not taking their actions personally. Mike emphasizes the importance of trust and maintaining a strong connection with adult children, allowing them to come back when they need support. He also explores the role of fathers as emotional filters and the dynamics between moms and dads in parenting. Overall, the episode encourages parents to think about their approach to parenting older children.

Excuse the dog-walking comedic takes throughout this episode. Join me as I share some of the post-defense thoughts; specifically about encouraging myself to have some alone & me time after my defense, and just in general. The concept of “me” time is soft to me. But I think it’s time to adjust and shift that narrative. Enjoy!

This got a little meta… but I’m having a conversation with myself about the complexities of being a son and a father and husband all at once. It’s not unheard of for there to be challenges, but I’m simply processing my thoughts for y’all to see. Enjoy!

I’ve noticed something with myself over the past two or three years. I’m not even going to project and make the assumption that other men have experienced this. But I’ve noticed that in situations where I would normally speak up and be very vocal, that I have become silent. I’m not really sure why, and I don’t really know if any of the rooms I am in are better with me being silent or with me being engaged and vocal. I’m assuming it’s something in the middle. But it’s definitely something I’ve noticed that I have taken on and that I am trying to be more mindful about. I think it’s time for me to speak up more.

In this episode, I go into the details of demystifying the process of getting a colonoscopy. A lot of the things that we know about getting a colonoscopy, we know cognitively, but we may not know some of the realities of the process. As usual, I wanted to use some humor to demystify the process for all the men out there that may be thinking and preparing to get a colonoscopy. Spread the word and let’s make this as fun and digestible as possible…