It’s in the smile

You ever see that viral meme or social media trend that shows pictures of a man smiling with his wife and then smiling while with the fellas (fishing or something similar)?

There’s a lot of truth to that, but it’s easy to draw the wrong conclusion…

A while back I noticed something while looking through photos.

In one photo, I’m sitting next to my wife.

We're smiling, happy, life is good.

In another photo, taken on a Guys Trip, I’m flashing a grin that takes up half my face.

The kind of smile that almost looks different.

Here’s the wrong conclusion. This isn’t a story about being happier in these different scenarios.

The point is simply this:

There are parts of a man that only come alive in certain environments.

Parts that have been dormant for a while…

The adventurous part. The competitive part.

The side that wants to explore, build, create, and be part of a team.

Most men don't lose those parts.

What happens is life gets busy.  The calendar gets filled up.

Careers happen.  Kids happen.  Responsibilities get piled on.

And before long, a man can go years without stepping into an environment that calls those parts of him forward.

The interesting thing is that the wives usually notice first.

I've lost track of how many women have told me some version of:

"I haven't seen him like that in a long time."

The strongest marriages I've seen aren't threatened by that, actually, they celebrate it.

Because a secure wife understands that she isn't competing with the parts of her husband that come alive in other healthy environments.

She's cheering for them.

She knows that when a man comes home feeling more like himself, everybody wins.

Including her.

- Kyle

What environment brings out a version of you that doesn't get enough airtime these days?