I was talking to a mate the other day...

I was talking to a mate the other day
I was talking to a mate of mine the other day and he said something that I found pretty interesting.  We were talking about blokes and drinking and how you can feel pressured to drink when out with mates.  Some blokes will simply call you a girl for drinking light beer and there is a kind of pressure that if you don't get hammered then you are less of a man.

Now personally, I have always been lucky with the circle of mates I have spent my time with and haven't experienced this all that much. But it was no surprise to me when the mate I was talking to said that before he had moved cities and met a new bunch of blokes, he used to hang around with guys were were exactly the type of negative peer pressure group I just mentioned.  He said how great it felt to have a new circle of friends who respected his choice to drink or not to drink... to have lights instead of heavies.... or to decide to drive instead of have a blurry night out on the grog!

Then it got me thinking... Is this sort of behaviour a measure of a good bloke?

When it comes to being a good bloke, I reckon one of the most important things is to be aware of others, to make an effort to be considerate of their feelings and get to know their circumstances.  It's only then I reckon we are not only a good bloke, but a good mate (and good son, good boyfriend, good husband, good father).  I think the way we behave when we drink is a window into our inherent ability to be good blokes.

If we stop for a second and think about the way we interact with our mates when sharing a couple of drinks (be it 1, 2 or 20) it might just provide us with a little insight into the kind of good bloke actions that our girlfriends, wives, sisters and mothers may expect of us, and it may also provide us with a little insight into what we may not be doing quite right.....