Rethinking Monk Mode: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in Practice

Building a strong foundation before reaching for higher goals is essential for success, emphasizing the importance of meeting basic needs first.

### The Truth About Monk Mode and Sigma Male Status: A Better Strategy from Abraham Maslow
* 🛡 "Monk mode" and "sigma male status" are often viewed as a way to **isolate oneself, give up distractions, and focus on self-improvement**.
* 🚶 Many young men turn to monk mode when feeling **frustrated, unseen, and lacking direction in life**.
* ⚔ However, the idea of **retreating from the world and becoming a lone warrior** is a flawed strategy for most people.
* 🏗 Instead of focusing on **eliminating vices and isolating oneself**, it's more effective to **create sustainable habits, do the hard work, and build a strong foundation**.
* 🌄 Two years ago, the speaker went through a monk mode phase but found that cutting off all connections with life led to **depression and inner conflict**.
* According to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it's crucial to build each level of the pyramid **step by step**.
* 🤝 Building relationships, participating in community events, and taking care of emotional well-being are essential before **striving for higher levels of self-actualization**.
* 🌬 Just like inhaling the world through experiences and connections, it's important to have outlets that allow you to **exhale and do your work**.

go into monk mode, they say. Disappear for six months and return as a new person. Give up your phone, quit your job, don't leave your house, just grind. No one can understand how deep and powerful you are. Sigma male status. Don't talk about your goals. Go build your empire in silence. Monk mode and sigma male status, they're trending on the internet right now. And honestly, there is something beautiful about encouraging men to give up distractions and go all in on themselves. But the way you know it's being preached is a problem. It's honestly a cope, and it's more harmful than helpful. Stick around to the end of this video. I'm going to tell you my experience with four months of monk mode, and I'm gonna give you a better strategy that doesn't come from another YouTube bro, but from the one and only famous psychologist, Abraham Maslow. Let's get into it. I'm a sigma male is the biggest cope for feeling lonely, stuck, and unseen out there. Monk mode is often a harsh reaction to yourself and

we want to do this when we feel frustrated, when we feel pent up, when we feel unseen and unvalued in the world, and don't really know our place. A lot of young men out there are like, Man, I'm so frustrated with myself and these lack of results, and the pornography, and the video games, and the weed, and the alcohol, and I just need to go isolate, and I need to become great. I need to retreat from everybody and go find myself and find my calling and get going on my work. And there's something romantic about that. There's something romantic about retreating from the world and finding yourself, and there is a grain of Truth in it, but it's a flawed strategy in most cases. I have a chapter in my book called Resistance, and it talks about how this insidious force of resistance gets into our mind and tells us we need another healing event, we need more knowledge, we need more mentorship, we need monk mode, we need another retreat, you know, in order to get going on our mission and to

find herself. We need this big confrontation in order to start when in reality, that is just resistance speaking, trying to get you to procrastinate and avoid doing your work. What you really need is to wake up and do the thing, the thing you should do for like one to four hours every day. There are so many lost souls sitting on mountain peaks, sitting in their monk mode man cave, sitting at Ayahuasca ceremonies, thinking they need this big event in order to get started, in order to get going, when in reality, they need 10 percent more grit to just do the thing for one hour every day. When you fail to do your work, pressure will grow inside of you, frustration will grow inside of you, and you're gonna convince yourself you need some radical change, yeah, maybe give up your phone for a couple months, you know, stop going to parties and drinking so much, and just get your priorities straight, that's the real Flex, you know, it's about creating sustainable habits of going to the gym, of getting

your work done of creating relationships that really is going to change your life forever. Stop focusing on cutting out video games, and cutting out porn, and cutting out smoking, and weed, and toxic people, and all the different things. What you need to focus on is creating instead of eliminating. When you focus on doing the thing that's hard to do, you're going to build power, you're going to build progress, you're going to build discipline, and as your life becomes more full and powerful, those bad vices will naturally begin to fall out of their own accord. So just double down on your work on creating your foundation, and then live your life. Don't get all macho about retreating from the world and being some Sigma lone warrior alpha male out there all on his own in his man cave. Like that's just a romantic fantasy. Unless you're reaching peak performance in life and you need to push the envelope like you're writing a book or something, yeah, then maybe try monk mode, but until then, don't do it. Here's

what I've learned being a solo creator for many years, and you know, growing through all the problems that young men have to face in today's world, you need to build your foundation before you reach for the stars. So two years ago, I had my monk mode phase. I'd gone through a breakup, I left all my addictions behind, I moved into my van, I traveled into the desert to be that lone warrior in training, that fantasy. It's pretty appealing, right? Four months into that, I found myself at a beautiful house up in Breckenridge, Colorado, ideal monk mode environment, a house to myself, no one around, feeling physically supported. I had this idea, like if I have removed everything in my life, I'll have to work, and I'll have the perfect opportunity to deepen my spiritual practice and my creative practice. But if you don't have enough outlets and inlets in connection with life, your productivity, your mind, your emotional well-being, they all suffer. Out there in Breck, it crippled me, and it created a lot of depression and this war.

inside myself, where I'm always trying to strive on battling with vices. All these ways I'm trying to cope, all these other parts of my nature are just being repressed, and it just wasn't productive. It wasn't helpful. The truth is, no matter how much you want to fight it, we all need support. We all need connection, and we have essential needs that need to be met in order for us to really go all in on our work. These days, I'm not in monk mode, but I work harder than ever before. I have Community around me. I have events that I go to like kickboxing, volleyball, dance, you know, ultimate frisbee. I have things going into my life, and I have a way better Foundation that allows me to actually stand firmly and reach for the higher levels of actualization. And this is what I want to get into here, my friends, is how important it is to build out Maslow's hierarchy of needs rung by rung, wherever you are in the Pyramid of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

where whether you're looking on physical needs whether you're working on safety needs emotional belonging intimacy Friendship Community or you're working on esteem needs which is like your work your mission your career or self-actualization you cannot reach those higher levels if you're standing on your tiptoes so it's so important to take note of where you are instead of being harsh and going right towards like purpose and self-actualization you know humble yourself for a moment and be like yo do I need to make some money so that I'm not constantly stressed about where my money is coming from so I can actually focus on my work do I need to go participate in you know kickboxing night do I need to go go to the coffee shop and ask out a woman do I need to go do things to get my Social needs filled like your emotional well-being and your social well-being is so important it's so important to build close friendships instead of going into monk mode right commit your mourning commit one to three

hours every day for your craft for your work. Like you are a monk, a limited distractions. But after that, go out into the world, build Brotherhood, ask women on dates, go do things, go live, support yourself emotionally, and have events. It's so important to have events, to have practices that you're doing on a consistent weekly basis, where you're building Community, participating in community, and building new relationships. It's so important for your emotional well-being, and also as a creator, there's an inhale and exhale to work, to Creation, right? I need to go inhale the world. When I go to a festival, I was just at a festival for four days, and I inhaled so much. I had so many intimate connections, emotional connections, times with Brothers, times with women, time dancing, new experiences that could instruct me, that I could learn from, that I could grow through. It's so important to have that, to have these weekly containers like kickboxing, like martial arts, like dance, these kinds of things that help.

you inhale right. So when you go into your cave, you can exhale, and you can do your work, and you can have your foundation. You know, I'm way happier when I have that foundation, when I have the pyramid set. So where are you? Are you working on your safety needs, on your health, on your well-being? Do you have security? Do you have a place? Then do you have community? Do you have friends? Then do your work. Thanks for being here. This is Wisdom Warriors. If you want to get notified about my book launch, link in the description below, and subscribe for more videos like this. Peace.

Why MONK MODE is a cope. (Do this instead)

Wisdom Warriors

The Problem with "Monk Mode" and "Sigma Male" Status

The trend of "monk mode" and "sigma male" status encourages men to isolate themselves as a solution to feeling frustrated and unseen.

This approach is seen as a cope and can be more harmful than helpful, as it is often a harsh reaction to one's struggles.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow offers a better strategy for self-improvement, emphasizing the flawed nature of retreating from the world.

Consistent daily action is more impactful than waiting for a big life-changing event.

Focusing on sustainable habits and prioritizing work and relationships is key to long-term success.

Instead of eliminating vices, the emphasis should be on creating a strong foundation, which will naturally lead to positive changes.

The Significance of Building a Strong Foundation for Personal Growth

Going into "monk mode" by isolating himself and repressing his needs led to depression and inner conflict for the speaker.

He realized that seeking support and connection is essential for productivity and emotional well-being.

By focusing on building a community and fulfilling his essential needs, he was able to work harder and achieve personal growth.

Balancing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs for Personal Growth

It's important to address lower-level needs like financial stability and social connections before focusing on higher-level needs like purpose and self-actualization.

Building close friendships and supporting oneself emotionally are crucial for overall well-being.

Engaging in regular social activities and events, and experiencing new things, is essential for personal growth and learning.

Prioritizing Your Foundation for Work and Well-being

Creating a strong foundation for work and well-being is crucial for happiness and productivity.

Prioritizing safety, health, and community before work can lead to a more fulfilling life.

Building a supportive community and taking care of one's needs is essential before diving into work.