My aunt sent it to me today.
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius.
It’s better to be totally funny than totally boring.
Let your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
Have a nice day, my friend!
Confessions we save for people we’ll never see again
Do you know more? Confessions of that one late night flight. The Uber story that brought tears to your eyes. Haircut overshares.
We say things to strangers that we don’t say to people we love. It’s not weird. It’s actually nice people. A few months ago, I said something to a taxi driver that I had never said out loud before:
“I worry that one day I’ll wake up and realize that I’ve spent too much of my life waiting for the ‘right time’ to be happy.”
Just one guy driving a cab, remember. He shook his head and said, “Most people are waiting for something. You just have to let it find you in time.”
And somehow, that helped. Psychologists call it The stranger-on-the-train effect. We open up to strangers because they have no history with us. No expectations. No future leverage. They can’t bring it up next week. They can’t quietly change how we see.
They only see the moment. And maybe that’s the point. Things you only say to strangers are often said out loud. So find your stranger. A therapist. a journal. An anonymous community. Somewhere safe enough to tell the truth. Because carrying something alone rarely makes it lighter.
There’s a word for that…
raw-dog (noun) | Source: The phrase originated in the early 2000s, initially as a vulgar slang term referring to unprotected sex. Since then, it has spread into everyday pop culture and internet slang, largely after a viral 2019 tweet by comedian Zabuki Young-White about navigating life and reality without drugs or therapy.
Most Famous: Sitting on a six-hour flight with no phone, no movies, no books, no headphones. only you the seat the window The emptiness of existence.
In the wild? This is the modern version of being alone with your thoughts. Which is apparently so hard now it needs a name. Raw-dogging a flight to 2024 is fascinating because most people can’t sit still for six minutes, let alone six hours. It is sudden meditation. Scary for some. Clarification for others.
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Previously published
Frequently Asked Questions – About the Good Men Project
What is the good male project?
The Good Men Project is a mission-driven media platform founded in 2010 that explores modern masculinity, men’s mental health, relationships, fatherhood, identity and social change through personal stories, expert insights and cultural analysis.
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Our mission is to expand the conversation about what it means to be a good person in the 21st century — in ways that are inclusive, emotionally honest, and grounded in real human experience.
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Because masculinity shapes how men appear in relationships, families, workplaces, and communities. Thoughtful testing helps reduce harm, challenge stereotypes, and create healthier outcomes for everyone.
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The Good Men Project was founded in 2010 and has been published continuously for over 15 years, making it one of the longest-running platforms dedicated to modern masculinity and men’s issues.
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