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MOMENTUM BLOG
Ideas, Stories & Ways To Keep Moving Forward
Explore honest insights, practical advice and stories about friendship, wellbeing, confidence, connection and life as a man.


The Journey of Change: Why Showing Up Matters
For a lot of men, the hardest part isn’t knowing something needs to change.
It’s doing something about it.
Not because they don’t want to.
But because:
They’re unsure what it’ll be like
They don’t know anyone there
It feels slightly outside their normal routine
So the idea stays as an idea.
“I might go at some point.”
“I’ll check it out another time.”
And nothing changes.
Alan Stokes
Jul 223 min read


“You Don’t Need Therapy — You Need Connection (Here’s Why)”
When something feels off, the default advice is often:
“Maybe you should talk to someone.”
And for some people, that’s exactly what helps.
But for a lot of men, the response is different.
Not resistant.
Not dismissive.
Just… not quite right.
Because the issue they’re experiencing isn’t always something that needs to be analysed or unpacked.
More often than not, it’s something much simpler.
They’re missing connection.
Alan Stokes
Jul 153 min read


“Always Busy, Never Fulfilled: The Modern Man’s Trap”
A lot of men are busy.
Work is full.
Days are structured.
There’s always something to do.
From the outside, it can look like things are going well.
But underneath that, there’s a different experience.
A sense that despite everything being in place…
Something still isn’t quite right.
Alan Stokes
Jul 13 min read


Making Friends After 30: Finding Connection in Plymouth
Making friends used to be straightforward.
School. College. Work. Sport.
You were around people regularly, and connection happened naturally.
There wasn’t much thought involved.
But at some point—usually in your 30's—that changes.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to notice that:
It’s not as easy as it used to be.
Alan Stokes
Jun 243 min read


The Silent Pressure on Men to ‘Hold It All Together’
There’s a pressure a lot of men carry.
Not always spoken about.
Not always obvious.
But it’s there.
Alan Stokes
Jun 103 min read


Why Men Don’t Talk (And What Actually Helps Instead)
“Men just don’t talk.”
It’s something you hear a lot.
Said casually.
Repeated often.
Almost accepted as fact.
But when you look closer, it’s not quite true.
Because men do talk.
Just not always in the way people expect.
And not always in environments that make it easy.
Alan Stokes
Jun 34 min read


How to Get Over a Relationship Breakdown and Find Your Way Forward
Breaking up is tough. It shakes your world and leaves you feeling lost. If you’re a man over 30 in Plymouth, you might find yourself wondering how to move on, how to heal, and how to rebuild your life. I’ve been there, and I want to share some honest, practical advice that helped me and many others find a way through the pain.
Alan Stokes
May 294 min read


Sometimes Life Beats the Hell Out of You
There were moments over the last couple of years where life brought me to my knees.
Not in a dramatic, cinematic way. Not all at once.
It happened slowly.
Quietly.
One difficult conversation at a time.
One sleepless night at a time.
One more responsibility.
One more fear.
One more loss.
One more thing to carry while pretending I was still coping.
From the outside, I probably looked functional.
I still worked.
Still spoke to people.
Still tried to lead.
Still showed up.
Alan Stokes
May 144 min read
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