Get a DNA test

Of course. It’s about time this was brought up. Men need to know. They live too long without truly having proof. Every man must investigate doubts and the unfamiliar characteristics that eat away at his conscious every waking day.

Every single living man should get their DNA tested. Some do it without any prompting while others are forced to find out.

To survive and thrive, a man will ultimately be examined by circumstance, decisions, indecision, fate or fortune. A man will invariably be tested to know exactly what he is made of. 

Because DNA is much more that the hereditary material in humans. It is more than the molecule containing biological instructions that make a man unique. Yes, I googled it.

It is whether you have a fight or flight mentality if civil war broke out. Are you putting your wife and children on a bus so you can stay and fight for a cause? 

Sadly, this has been the case for some men.

But many more get their DNA tested in less taxing circumstances. You may think light of it but it is a test of character to get up every morning and drive to the same job for decades. While other men fail spectacularly within months of corporate routine.

But what is life if it doesn’t challenge us to plumb new depths of our character? 

Maybe you took after your resilient grandpa and will find out exactly what you’re made of when the going gets tough. Or give up like his son did and see out the rest of your life wondering what could have been if only you tested yourself. 

You’ll never know what you’re capable or incapable of by sitting in the crowd. Or maybe that’s what your DNA is. To play it safe, blend in and not want to try something new. Give the best years of your life to a couch and TV. 

I mean, wouldn’t you at least want to know?

Know what it takes to commit to something for the long haul. A small business, marriage, gym membership, learning a new language or live in a new city? Wouldn’t you want to test yourself on the global stage and take up a job in Benin to prove yourself from scratch?

There is a certain, admirable resilience in routine but what if there’s more out there for you? More than waking up to check your Facebook, jump into your car, sit at your desk, head out for a heavy meal of nsima Monday to Friday, comment on social media, barely meet a deadline, go home, scroll on your phone then fall asleep? 

There’s an irony in how we see Zambian footballers as school dropouts, low IQ, thick as bricks. Yet they test their DNA, leaving Mufulira for new culture, language, cuisine and way of life in Russia, Turkey or China while we move around with power banks as WhatsApp admins.