1. Life = Simplicity: I am sure most men went through a phase where they bought elaborate outfits and jewelry, spend hundreds on fragrances and skincare, looked for the absolute premiere barbers and beauty saloons in their town etc. I used to do all of these things too, but when I realized they didn't make that much of a difference plus cost a lot of money, I simplified things, and everything improved. Women generally desire a man who is just.. normal. No flash, no gimmicks, just a normal human being. My fashion sense is now "rugged everyman". My skincare routine consists of just 3 products, and I only own 1 perfume. I work out at my own home, without much equipment and fancy gym membership. My "barber" is a family friend who trims me up once a month for merely 10 bucks. Do things that make you look presentable and clean, but don't overdo it, especially money-wise. Vanity cannot fix loneliness.

  2. Self-Betterment: the gym gave me a physical confidence, books/studying/learning new skills gave me a mental confidence. Every day, I spend about 2 hours improving my mind and about 90 minutes improving my body, and I have never felt better. The feeling of being able to talk to anyone about anything, whilst also having people's respect for being disciplined is an indescribable feeling. Since my mind is a curious creature by nature, I wonder off reading and exploring many different topics and subjects. The most important lesson is this - I am improving myself for me, not anyone else. I am not doing it to be liked or approved, I am doing it for my own well being. Always remember that.

  3. Digital Deletion: not having Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat really gives your life a peace and quiet that's rare in today's day and age. Being away from the likes, the shallowness, the suspense of that one text or girl following you, women online begging for money and acting promiscuous, "friends" and acquaintances being desperate and needy, it was just too much. As an introvert at heart, I keep contact with the few valuable friends I have through phone calls and meet ups. Once I adopted the mindset of "whoever I meet from now on, it will happen in person", I became way more happy.

  4. Open-Mindedness: to go with the point of being able to talk to anyone about anything, I realized that there's beauty within every single human being, and ignoring that is not only disrespectful, but wasteful. We lose out on so many potential relationships by just pre-judging others, and I was guilty of this myself. Now, I approach people without fear and hesitation, not only because my confidence is there, because I feel like I can relate to everybody with the new way of thinking I adopted. Old, young, cute girl, a neighbor I don't know that well, it doesn't matter. I make sure to talk to several strangers daily, because understanding and interacting with others made me understand myself better, and look within.

  5. Self-Love: even if things don't go my way, even if I get rejected, ridiculed, made fun of, I pick myself up, and tell myself tomorrow will be better. Wallowing in your own self-pity caused me, and many others I'm sure, a whirlwind of internal negative emotions for a long time. Self-hatred is a strong term, but yes, that's exactly what it was. For so long, I ignored my positive traits and only focused on the negatives, but now, that the positives outweigh the negatives by a lot, I changed my mentality both directly and indirectly. The first step to loving yourself I found was realizing you can be better, and from there you'll realize that there was already plenty of good inside you to begin with. Love from others can fulfill you core, but self love is your core.