Live the learnings of 2020!

Of all the lessons that 2020 has left us, the understanding that we are part of the largest networked system that exists - Earth - leaves us with no doubts about the fragility and interdependence of our species.

You, like me and all the people who inhabit this planet, are part of the human race, responsible for the current state of affairs and, at the same time, the only one capable of changing the course of history. If we want.

If you weren't aware of it yet, this year made you understand that human life is rare, fragile and fleeting. A breath that cannot be controlled. A one-way path, always in beta, with no rehearsal or replay rights. No turning back. We started dying the day we were born and to die, we just need to be alive.

The popular saying states that “what we get from this life is the life that we live”. How have you been living your life? Have you lived intensely as if you were going to die tomorrow and learned intensely as if you were going to live forever?

You are neither better nor worse than anyone. You are equal in your humanity and different in your uniqueness.

What impact have you had on people's lives and the environment around you? Would the child you were be proud of the adult you became?

If you die today, how would you be remembered and what would they say about you?

Are you living your purpose or have you come into the world on a walk, letting life take you, with the wind, by chance?

In this unusual year, have you taken the opportunity to get in touch with all these questions? Have you dived into yourself, strengthen your virtues and faced your shadows bravely? Have you understood that everything is about life? And that your life will make more sense the more you are servant to other lives?

It is not about you, your personal agenda, your ambition, your ego or your thirst for power. It is about how you, consciously and intentionally, invest your unique talent, empathy, compassion, solidarity, energy, knowledge, experience and capacity for achievement to build a collaborative and networked world that respects and values human rights. That is inclusive, fair and promote access to equal opportunities for each person. This is how abundance is generated for all lives.

For that, it is necessary to respect and like people - to know that people are not machines, that you turn on and off whenever you want. Not also resources that you use, abuse and discard when they are no longer useful.

People are unique lives, surrounded by other lives and contexts, with equally unique skills, duties and responsibilities.

It is necessary to trust people, to know how to listen to them, to understand their yearnings, desires and realities.

To inspire, mobilize and keep them engaged, you will have to lead by example, share a common purpose and ensure that they will have the means to fulfill their dreams and work with love, joy and meaning, in the best way possible, in the manner and time they can, wherever they are - in the office, at home or anywhere.

Also that they will always, and increasingly, be valued for being exactly who they are. And because they are the best, most complete and authentic version of themselves, they will add their unique and incomparable value to the world they belong to.

Happy 2021, putting into practice and living all the learnings that 2020 has brought to you.

#FairCause

I am Neivia Justa, awarded and recognized Brazilian businesswoman, mother of two teenager girls, jornalist, entrepreneur, influencer, teacher, mentor, consultant and connector of purposeful leaders who think, communicate and act in a conscious, diverse, inclusive and innovative way to guarantee a sustainable future for all.

This article was originally published in Portuguese on HSM Management magazine: https://www.revistahsm.com.br/post/viva-os-aprendizados-de-2020