The flip side of professionalism

Can a word mean different things to different people??

?"It might, but if the dictionary explains it, this must be its real meaning" Many people can argue.?

?Years ago, during work training, a trainer demonstrated how a simple instruction to open a box of matches could be interpreted very differently by different people, even though the instructions were clear. This experiment completely opened my eyes to the world of personal interpretation.?

I realised throughout the years that people interpret words, emotions, stories and facts according to their inner system, such as the stories they have lived, the culture they grew up in, their education, and the challenges they have faced.?

?I was conversing about the meaning of the word "Professional" with someone the other day. I found myself speaking about the deep sense of this word very often.

The dictionary describes it as: "Relating or belonging to a certain profession".

For some reason, the meaning of this word has been distorted and misinterpreted many times. Most people associate being professional with the concept of "being well mannered, polite, a people pleaser, and rather serious and formal".?

Also, behaving in a way society expects and often not speaking up and sharing their absolute truth for fear of being labelled insensitive or selfish.

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Let's go back to the dictionary meaning. If being professional means belonging to a profession, then a stripper can be professional, a prostitute can be professional, a comedian can be professional, and a sex educator can be professional.

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I once witnessed on one of the social media platforms a woman accusing a man of not being professional for talking about sex and pleasure. She said," this is not the right platform for this. This is a professional platform. Take this elsewhere. "

I reminded her that talking about sex and pleasure is a job as a sex educator, so he was being professional as he belonged to a well-respected and recognised profession.?

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Being professional or not being is often associated with what people feel comfortable with.

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Wearing a suit and having serious photos next to a desk or in front of a computer is considered professional. Being professional means staying true to who you are and what you love doing.

Staying true to your flavours, your way of being.?

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"I do not show my true colours on Linkedin; I try to be professional as otherwise, people will not take me seriously" it's everyday thinking in this space.?

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So people refrain from talking about how they speak when they are more relaxed. They refrain from deeply connecting and being vulnerable, posting the real pictures of themselves, the ones that encompass their true essence, the ones that were taken when the lights of the social media show go off.

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"Do not adapt your content, speaking and way of being to your audience, be who you are, and the right people will find you".

I once wrote.?

?If you are flamboyant, be it

If you are outspoken, be it

If you hate posing in all these boring poses, get excited by creating different ways of presenting yourself.

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If you swear, swear, do not sugarcoat your words.

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I have a beautiful example of this.

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I once went to a very high-profile speaking training with a funny and outspoken woman who swore a lot.?

She said she was told that she had to change the way she spoke if she wanted to make it into the speaking world. Swearing was her daily bread; she grew up with it, and not doing it would be against who she was.?

She stuck with who she was, and a top speaker contracted her as her primary trainer. This woman is smashing it. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but many love her and are using her as an example to become an authentic speaker who is less worried about being liked and more focused on making an impact and being authentic.

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I do not swear, but I am not bothered if someone does it, especially if they do it from a place of truth and who they are.

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I am not bothered by a person who is sarcastic, funny, outspoken, charming and charismatic.

I would be more bothered by the fact that they are hiding behind a mask and occulting these excellent qualities for fear of not fitting in.??

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So what does being professional mean to you?

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Are you living in the shadow of this word, hiding your true nature and trying to fit into this professional box society wants you to fit in??

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Faking it and being someone you are not is undoubtedly less professional than pretending to be someone you are not.?

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It may be time you get out of the professional closet and show us who you genuinely like, love, and truly are.?

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Daring reflections?

I am sure that many emotions came up for you from reading. You may agree with me, or you may disagree. You could stand in a middle ground.?

Your opinion is changing, and that is perfectly fine too.?

Our opinions often change with time, with our experiences and when we get closer to the issue and feel it from a different angle.?

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I have changed a few of my opinions during the year.?

As Anna's Frank says, "We are a bundle of contradictions".

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However, I would like you to remain open to whatever I introduced in the article and start reflecting on the meaning of the word "professionalism" and notice how you apply it in your life and business.?

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What does being professional mean to you??

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How would you like your audience to perceive you???

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Has your understanding of the word professionalism been conditioned by the culture you grew up in and what the world believes of it??

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Could you recognise if your opinion is biased, or is it truly yours??

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Do you think your trying to be "professional" keeps you away from your authentic flavours and colours??

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Let's reflect, and feel free to share your insights and breakthrough with us.?

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See you next month, daring soul, for another thought-provoking, inspiring article, and make sure you subscribe to The Daring Word here to receive our articles directly to your inbox and receive all of our news, events, future projects, and how you can become a contributor to this daring project.?

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Debora Luzi

Founder and Editor of The Daring word