Hey dudes,
It’s about time I said a little about that one molecule which, more than any other, makes us guys what we are: testosterone.
It turns out that there’s a fairly wide range of normal testosterone levels that a man can have. Outside of this range – if the amount in your body is too low or too high – you’re going to have health problems. (So check with your doctor before you consider taking any of the stuff out there that claims to boost your testosterone, and if you’re over 35, ask about having your blood testosterone level checked once in a while. The hormone levels start going down after that age.)
But what if you’re at the high end of normal, or at the low end? That’s where things get interesting, because it’s probably enough to make you different from the average dude. It can also affect the kind of bro you can make friends with the most easily, so pay attention.
When you have high testosterone levels, it makes you an alpha bro. You’ll have a higher than average sex drive, and you’ll build and keep muscle mass more easily than most other guys (who do the same type and amount of exercise). You also get an instinctive push to try to dominate social situations. But, as I’ll explain later, more isn’t necessarily better.
At the lower range of testosterone, as you probably guessed, you become a beta bro. Despite the bad press that beta males sometimes get (usually in ads for testosterone supplements), there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a beta. In fact, betas of both sexes are awesome at promoting cooperation and social harmony. They’re also good at caring about and for other people. If you’re a beta bro, chances are that most people who know you think that you’re a nice guy.
How do these two types of bros fare in starting and maintaining a bromance? If you’re a beta bro, guess what? You’re the lucky one! You find it the most easy to get along with just about any other dude. Of course, this means that if you’re an alpha bro, it’s just as easy to have a beta for a friend: he’ll have no problem with letting you take the lead in social situations. On the other hand, a bromance with another alpha is going to be much more difficult: both of you will want to “dominate the friendship,” and it could lead to open conflict if you both aren’t careful.
At the end of the day, we all are thinking, civilized human beings, not appliances. So, whatever your testosterone level is, it’s up to you to bring out the best traits it gives you, and to consciously (but calmly) smooth out the traits that aren’t so great.
Later,
-The Blog Dude
