What It Takes to Grow Long Hair

In Advocate by El Moreno12 Comments

Growing Long Hair is Like Building Physical Strength

To grow long hair is much like building physical strength. You have to put in the time and the work. It must be earned.

You cannot buy it. You cannot steal it. You cannot borrow it. You cannot inherit or win it in the lottery. It can only be earned through commitment, perseverance, and time.

Commitment

It starts with commitment, the foundation for perseverance.

You have to start with making a commitment to a future state, a different and better version of yourself. Only with a rock solid commitment will you have the strength to overcome the inevitable challenge, to endure the pain and discomfort, to persevere through the resistance.

Perseverance

Inevitably the challenges will mount, and with them come the voices of resistance.

Coined by Steven Pressfield in the War of Art, the Resistance is the self-sabotage, procrastination, fear, arrogance and self-doubt inside you. It’s made up of the voices telling you it’s too hard, that you don’t need to be doing this, offering a thousand reasons and excuses to break your commitment.

The voices are insidious and persuasive, clever and relentless. Like water, the resistance will find any crevice, any crack in the dam, any chink in the armor.

This is where perseverance is required. You must persevere through the challenges, beyond the voices, and above the resistance.

Time

With firm commitment and unwavering perseverance, the final ingredient is time. You must maintain your commitment and persevere over time, continuously building, growing and overcoming adversity. Each time you persevere and refuse to break your commitment, you become stronger.

The work must continue, because you are playing the long game. And the only way to win the long game is over time.

That’s why growing long hair is like building physical strength. They have the same requirements. And no one’s gonna give it to you...you have to earn it.

HEALTHY MIND. HEALTHY BODY. HEALTHY HAIR.

Comments

  1. I love the video and what you guys are doing! Feels good to know there is a community of men for long hair. I’ve been taking Biotin for about a year now and I’ve noticed that it has helped my hair. It’s definitely growing faster. I use Biotin from Mountain Man Supplements. Their Biotin is specifically designed for men. I like it, and I’d recommend it.

  2. Good stuff.
    2012 – retired, quit shaving.
    2017 – realization “maximize your assets” sinks in at another level, thus quit haircuts.
    New levels of satisfaction realized.
    Carry on. Life is good!

  3. El Moreno on the ropes looks like he’s giving twerking lessons. (sorry buddy…when I see ’em I have to hit ’em.) Maybe a new side project. 😉

  4. Very inspirational video! Kudos to you both for your dedication. Plus fun to see you throwing down those ropes!

  5. at my age ( 63), i’ have resigned to horse riding, and it was my only sport
    i did not know that growing out hair was a sport, or it was necessary being a culturist for growing out
    happily : y should stay a shorthair if it was obligatory when i did grow out………;lol
    but, front of the hairdressers, a great dose of pugnacity was useful !!!

  6. At the risk of revealing how much mileage this jalopy has on it, I recall a commercial from the 70s that exemplifies the “Earn It” mentality. At the end of the commercial for the investment firm of Smith Barney (now defunct, I believe), actor John Houseman states, “At Smith Barney, they make money the old-fashioned way, they earn it.”

    The same can be said for attaining long-hair status. You need a concerted effort of commitment, desire and dedication to attain (and maintain) a long mane. Not to mention the necessity to fend off, or at the very least circumvent, the numerous obstacles that will no doubt try to oppress your chances of success.

    We must stand united against the Delilahs of this world! (Though if she has a cute sister, I won’t hold anything against her.)

    Paraphrasing Mr. Houseman: At The Longhairs, we make magnificent heads of hair the old-fashioned way, we grow it!

    Rhythm Man

    P.S. Kudos to Mike O. for his astute comments. I especially enjoyed the statement “I’m eating for my hair now.” Didn’t think I’d ever see those words in print!

  7. Since I’m just over 4 months past my last cut, I can confirm those voices. I suspect it’s much like quitting smoking, dieting, or any other resolution; those evil voices nag at you. “You’ve had a stressful day, one cigarette won’t hurt.” “Go ahead and have a candy bar, you can make up for it tomorrow.”

    For me the voices have been saying, “Your boss won’t approve.” You’ll look silly with long hair at your age.” “You’ll never make it to 18 months so just give up now.”

    And I would have if I hadn’t found the support and EDUCATION here at The Longhairs. All the information here is awesome, but I would suggest starting with El Rubio’s blog – How A Traveler Became A Longhair. (I think it was an Indie Film Festival winner, right?) Seriously, it’s packed with inspiration and motivation and gave me what I needed to commit to growing my hair out. Then dig in to all the other blogs especially about proper hair care and the awkward stage. Since I’ve been following their advice on shampooing, conditioning, and brushing, I’ve noticed less hair in the drain and new growth at my forehead hairline.

    As for the awkward stage, I think that depends on if your glass is half full or half empty. Do you see it as some horrible experience that has power over you? I see it as an opportunity to have a different hair style every day with a few “mystery dos” now and then. On the weekends I either let it rage just for the experience of having wild hair or try different products and ways to tame my hair. Are you “glad you only have to go through this one time” or “glad you get to experience each step along the journey”? Do you want to fight it and be miserable or embrace it and enjoy the experience? Definitely get trims – take in pics of styles you like at you’re current length. Oh, and get some Wood Shop Serum. Smells so good it should be called Morning Wood Shop. 😉

    This site and deciding to grow my hair out has literally been life-changing for me. I was TV dinners 7 days a week, now I’m buying fresh, nutritious food. (I’m eating for my hair now.) I don’t need my boss’s approval for my hair style. I proudly tell people that I’m letting my hair grow out instead of shrugging it off when people comment that my hair is getting long. I think telling other people makes your commitment stronger – it’s easier to give up if no one knows you’re trying. Now that I’m taking care of my hair and it’s long enough to see how luxurious it’s becoming, I can see that it won’t look silly when’s it’s long. If Kim Dung Hill doesn’t nuke us in the near future, I’m 99.9% sure I can make it to 18 months with Longhairs support.

    Thanks boys!

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