take care of your car fix a leaky faucet throw a knife (though not at a tree or anything you could harm) cook a steak properly shoot a gun shave with a straight razor find water butcher meat survive in the wilderness win a fight
fishing Sports like soccer, golf, and whatever interests boxing motorcycling reading skeet-shooting
Never take others down for knowing more than you do about something. It doesn’t make you macho to treat ignorance like it’s some kind of “cool” thing, it just makes you look silly. Instead, appreciate them and learn from them to make yourself better. If you’re really talented, you’ll be able to back up your talk with action. Bragging to your friends about how great you are in the sack, how fast your new car goes, or how great your outside jump shot is may be macho, or it may just be a load of lies.
Find masculine role models that you respect and learn from them. If you’re learning a trade, apprentice yourself to a person that you admire personally and professionally and learn everything you can from them. Spend time with your male family members to get to know them a little better. Try to strengthen your relationship with your parents, your extended family, your cousins, and siblings. Steer clear of bad influences. Some “macho” people are disrespectful, out of control, or downright dangerous to themselves or others. You don’t want to associate with them.
Handle your anger rationally. Don’t raise your voice, break things, or intimidate others. If you’re tempted to act out, excuse yourself and take a walk. And if you were out of line, apologize and try not to do it again.
Try activities like exercise, long walks, journaling, meditation, or art to process feelings of stress. Work through it and let it go once you’re ready. Get a few trusted people you can confide in when things get tough. They can listen, help you process, and help you figure out what to do next.
Being kind isn’t just good for yourself and others, but it’s a very attractive trait.
Be useful to your family. Do your chores before people ask and do them right. Clean, run errands, and keep things in good running order. Be there for emotional support when someone is having a rough time. Be useful at work. Handle your responsibilities on time to the best of your abilities. Help struggling coworkers when you can and be a team player. If you can’t solve something on your own, reach out for help instead of wasting your time. Be useful to your partner, if you have one. Make a regular effort to do something that pleases them, both physically and emotionally. Help with their problems, listen to them, and go out of your way to make them feel special. Invest in your future usefulness. If you’re in school, take it seriously and work hard to learn as much as you can. At work, pay attention to training opportunities. Try spending some of your free time learning things you could use later, from handling emergencies to making people feel better. Be useful to yourself. Don’t ignore your problems. Analyze them, get help if you need it, and fix them. Seek a balanced life to keep yourself healthy. Remember that it’s hard to take good care of others if you aren’t taking good care of yourself.
If you’re not in a bread-winning role, you can still take care of your family. Do chores reliably, watch over and guide any children, support people when they are struggling, and take your education seriously if you are in school. Build up your family instead of tearing them down. You want to be their rock and their supporter, so that someday when they succeed, you’ll be high on the list of their people to thank. If you take good care of your family, they’ll want to take care of you sometimes too. Don’t push them away when this happens. Instead, show them gratitude and let them feel good about helping you. They’ll know you’ll be there for them next time they need you. Sometimes, what gets called “macho” is really just a person compensating for a lack of confidence in themselves and their ability to care for those around them. People who can’t keep their own household together have to lash out at other people, brag to everyone around them about how great they are, to keep up the status-quo. If you really do provide for your family, keep a good job, and make your partner happy, there’s no need to compensate with fake machismo.
A macho person lets their presence be known physically and vocally, but without trying actively to intimidate others. There’s a difference between being macho and being a jerk. Don’t insult people to tear them down and hold yourself up. If you like to get into trash-talk sessions with your friends, draw the line somewhere. If you can’t make eye contact, you can look at people’s noses or eyebrows. Most people can’t tell the difference.
It’s also important to learn when you’re wrong and admit it. If you’re having an argument and start changing your mind, or if your decision turns out to be the wrong one, say so. Own up to it.
Always wear the appropriate protective gear. Wear a helmet on your bike and use goggles when dealing with things that can go flying. Remember, a helmet is more masculine than a preventable hospital trip. Get regular doctor check-ups and see a doctor if something feels wrong. This way, you’ll fix small problems before they become big problems.
Be quiet. Be a good listener, and don’t speak unless it’s absolutely necessary. It’s hard to be macho when your mouth never stops moving. Be serious. Mysterious macho people aren’t usually goofballs. Think of the grave seriousness of veterans and old sea captains. Be sensual (if that’s your thing). Understand the loving arts of massage and pleasure. Learn about how to please your partner, both emotionally and physically.
No means no. Not every woman is going to talk to you or date you, and it doesn’t usually mean something is wrong with you. She might be taken, too busy, working through some personal stuff, asexual, or LGBTQ, or just not in the mood. Say “That’s all right. Have a good day” and move on. You don’t have to put on a big show to attract people. It’s a turn off and shows that you’re just putting on an act. Never cat-call or use pick-up lines to talk to women. This can be creepy and unattractive.
You can be gay, bi, asexual, trans, or otherwise LGBTQ+ and also be macho. Don’t use slurs against LGBTQ folks or phrases such as “that’s so gay”. These are very hurtful and pathetic when there are so many other words you could use besides “gay”.
If a victim or survivor comes to you for help, take their story seriously and comfort them. Ask them what would help make things better. Practice phrases like “Not cool,” or “Seriously?” to say if someone else is being disparaging or acting like a bully. If they backpedal and say “It was just a joke,” reply with, “It wasn’t a funny one. " Know that you can’t always fix things or save everyone, but you can usually improve on the situation. Sometimes that’s just listening or staying with the person while they face their demons. That can mean more than you realize. Don’t overreact to a tense situation or make a scene when it’s not needed. Keep your cool and de-escalate instead of escalating. Keep your voice low unless absolutely necessary. Never throw a punch unless someone is an immediate physical danger to others.
Never let yourself get blackout drunk. It’s always better to stay in control–for the safety of yourself and others. This also goes for other self-destructive vices, like smoking and using other drugs. Abusing substances is a sign of insecurity, not a sign of masculinity.
If you want to be a person who takes care of their family, that means coming home safe to them. Be a defensive driver. Put your phone away or give it to the person in the passenger seat. If you’ve got a cool ride that you’re really proud of, show it off to your friends in your driveway, or on open road, but don’t show it off in the middle of traffic. Strangers on their morning commute don’t care about your horsepower, and it won’t make you look more masculine to peel out from stoplights in front of them.
Check in with your partner to make sure they’re into it. If they’re hesitant or they say no, back off. It’s not sexy if someone is uncomfortable. Communicate, don’t push, and be willing to slow down or stop. You don’t need to have sex in order to be masculine. It’s okay if you want to wait or if you aren’t always in the mood. Remember, “no means no” applies to men too. Nobody should ever be ashamed of not wanting or having sex.
Look out for your people and help them when they need you. Help others become more self-reliant and teach them what you know.
Being secure in your masculinity means being willing to admit that you aren’t perfect.
If you have your hair and hands in good shape. Instead, learn to trim your own neckline and beard with a trimmer to keep yourself looking good between basic cuts. Trim and clean your fingernails regularly, but don’t worry about your cuticles. Shower and wear clean clothes that fit appropriately and highlight your masculine physique. There’s nothing macho about stinking and wearing the clothes a teenager wears. Learn to dress yourself.
Dress appropriately for the situation. For example, don’t wear flip-flops and board shorts to your job. Get a solid pair of shoes or boots and get the job done. [4] X Research source
Do a little reading on building muscle to make sure you’re doing it responsibly and appropriately. Push yourself, but try not to injure yourself either because you were doing it wrong. Focus on your abs and biceps above all other muscle groups. Do sit-ups of different varieties and at different angles to build your six-pack muscles and perform bicep curls and bench presses to work on your chest and arms. Starting small is better than not starting at all. If you can’t do a push-up yet, start with doing them on your knees and work your way up.
