What Defines A Man?
Some men were recently discussing what advice fathers should give to their sons in response to the question, "How do I learn to be a man?” From this discussion arose the words of wisdom below from my friend and fellow blogger, Michael Jeffcoat. I obtained permission from Michael to publish his answer here, because I believe it will benefit fathers and sons everywhere:
Here is what I think defines a Man:
- A Man is grounded in a crystal clear sense of morality.
- A Man strives for excellence in his chosen work.
- A Man has invested the time and effort to become good at the things he chooses to do. By doing so, a boy creates for himself what every Man has – confidence.
- A Man understands that he can do almost anything in life, but he cannot do everything.
- A Man is decisive. He makes a decision and he acts.
- A Man decides on what he wants. He knows what he wants.
- A Man is thoughtful, but he does not hesitate. He does not hem and haw.
- A Man is direct and honest, not only with others but especially with himself.
- A Man is never coy.
- A Man does not gossip.
- A Man is not physically intimidated by any other human being on the planet.
- A Man looks you in the eye.
- A Man has a strong handshake.
- A Man stands up straight.
- A Man is comfortable expressing his feelings.
- A Man expresses his anger without violence.
- A Man can admit when he is wrong.
- A Man would never physically harm a woman.
- A Man is resilient.
- A Man pushes past fears. When they come, he will still do what needs to be done. This makes him stronger and stronger.
- A Man knows that he will survive in the end.
- A Man withstands rough times. He knows that today may be cloudy, but the sun will come out eventually.
- A Man has made some stupid mistakes. He learned from them, and chose not to repeat them.
- A Man takes full responsibility for his life. He doesn’t wait around for things to get better. He goes out and makes them better.
- A Man welcomes failure and rejection from time to time, because those things will come sometimes when he puts himself out there, and “goes for it.”
- A Man knows who he is.
Source: Michael R. Jeffcoat, Esquire of the Truck Accident Lawyer Blog (used with permission)
