40+FAB Blog

From boys to men

Gaining the status or the perks of growing up can be very exciting. For instance, it was a big deal among my peers back then to be able to drive once we hit the age of 17. Learning to drive was exciting, getting the car all to yourself and going out with the boys or girls was even more exciting.

I remember wanting to drive everywhere when I first learned to drive, I did not mind chauffeuring my parents wherever they wanted to go. Sometimes this meant sitting and waiting in the car for many hours while they went about their business. I can’t imagine doing that now as I get very uptight even if I had to wait 10 mins for my wife when I have driven her to the shop.

The perks of being a grown up are not an end of pleasure in themselves but rather are enablers. It is only maturity that can teach us to take such pleasurable experiences and use them as a means to fulfil the greater purpose for our lives. After all, as cool as driving is, no one would seek to aimlessly be behind the wheels for most of their days. The skill must be developed into something like a race car driver, or used as a way to deliver other skills, like a taxi driver.

It is a great feeling to have a grown up freedom like driving, but just like arsenal in a soldiers possession, it must be used as a means to fulfil an assignment. Understand what enablers you have picked up through your growing up years and deploy them appropriately for greater impact in your life.