Being a human being

Today, I want to express my opinions and beliefs while standing on my Soapbox.

What causes individuals to feel the urge to either speak negatively about their co-workers or hold them accountable when conversing with others within or outside of their workplace? This applies to in-contact conversations, and all social media platforms. I am struck by how people often preach about values, norms, and morality, yet fail to embody them.

No matter what department you work in, if you work for an organization, you are still employed by that same organization. Each one of you belongs to the same organization, working together towards success like cogs in a wheel. Your image should embody theirs and that of the organisation. Did we forget the importance of branding and how it spills over to people, places, and opinions?

It was former President Obama that said in 2008, “One voice can change a room. And if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city. And if it can change a city, it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a nation. And if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.”

Am I blameless to this behaviour? Absolutely not! I am not a saint and do get emotional and angry and have an ego to keep in check. I do have the unfortunate spills to a friend or colleague. But to do this frequently and not learn from it? That is neither ‘cool’ or professional. It blows my mind. I sometimes get the idea it is the ego speaking and nothing else. Have we become so dependent on our ego that we feed it with this type of behaviour? ?I hope not.

I can nearly visualize the two individuals deep in discussion, with one embellishing the story beyond what they were initially informed. Has humankind transformed to the extent that we thrive on empty laughs and disrespectful language.

Going on social media in the last few days I see people writing about love, respect, compassion, seeing the person behind the body as a soul and human being and how people are important in organisations. I wonder whether we are longing for all these values so intensely that we now finally write about them. However, the question I am pondering is when we will support them with concrete actions? Indeed, it all begins with me, and I am certainly more concentrated on my words, their recipients, and their meaningfulness. Please understand me correctly, speak out loudly against injustice and righting the wrongs and voicing innovative ideas and concepts for growth and development, but is it necessary to degrade others while attempting to appear 'cool'?

We are human, with human faults, feelings, and emotions. Life has become fast paced, and people are dealing with so much both in their personal life as well as professional. I think the one that declares their life to be always easy surely needs to re-evaluate what and how they see things. It is hard, it is demanding, and it takes a lot of growth and introspection.

Descending from my soapbox I leave you with this one thought.

Being a human being holds great power and equal responsibility. It is difficult and will challenge you every step of the way. It asks of us to dig deep and to give as much back, if not more. There is no universal manual or type of clothing included. You will need to improvise as the time comes. We were provided with both heart and mind, one to design the platform for humanity and one to uphold and support it.

written by J Nel, 21 August 2024