Daily Leadership Thought #137 – Have We Lost Our Way?
Lately, our society seems to have lost its direction. The disproportionate celebration of the individual has come at great expense to the family and community. Other people have become props in our lives, discarded as they no longer serve our purpose. We tolerate less and expect more. We want what we want, and we want it now. We are more concerned about what strangers think than about strengthening the bonds of our existing relationships.
It could be that my age and increased awareness have made me more aware of this, but I am convinced that there are more egocentric people today than when I was younger. You meet people like this all the time. Whatever happens is always about them, regardless of the situation and its consequences (for others). Sadly, they have been buoyed in their attitudes by a cottage industry of self-help gurus and marketers that continue to reinforce the worldview that everyone should be the center of their own universe and everyone’s primary concern should be their own happiness and self-satisfaction. It feels like people can no longer compromise or handle adversity. To what extent do we genuinely understand and embrace the concepts of delayed gratification and self-sacrifice?
We expect to be happy and fulfilled all the time, and paradoxically, we are less happy. You see the evidence everywhere: divorce rates now above 50%, parents putting their own needs ahead of their kids, parents over-scheduling and stressing out their children and trying to live vicariously through their exploits, people switching jobs every 2-3 years, children living at home well into their Thirties, the number of people you know on antidepressants, etc. The offspring of the “ME” generation have clearly paid attention to the actions and attitudes of their parents. It is all quite sad.
Through the ages, cultures and religions have communicated the following secrets to a happy and fulfilling life:
- Money and material things aren’t the pathways to joy or enlightenment and never will be.
- True happiness comes from giving, not getting.
- Pay attention to your attitudes and actions before rushing to judge others.
- Treat people the way you would want to be treated, or better yet, treat them the way they want to be treated.
- Important relationships are like gardens – they need to be properly maintained, or they will wither and die.
- Be thankful for what you have; the grass isn’t always greener.
- People tend to live up to your expectations (either good or bad), and most people are good and deserve the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
- You get out of life what you put into it.
- The moment you stop learning and growing is the moment you begin to die.
- The essential life lessons become increasingly challenging until you learn them.
- Life isn’t fair. You often can’t control what happens to you, but you can control your response to it.
- And we all meet the same end; what matters then is the impact we have on others.
We may have lost our way, but we can reroute and get back on track, and it starts with you and me. We know the answers. To reach our destination, we must navigate the challenging terrain of self-deception and conceit. The lessons and values we must embrace are widely known, time-tested, implementable, and lead to better results. We need to let go of the Ego and embrace the needs of our fellow human beings. We should stop always putting ourselves and our needs first and then rationalizing this behavior.
Related articles
- On Leadership and Ego (linked2leadership.com)
- Happiness is Uncovering What You Already Have (angperegrino.com)
- Stay Positive! Maintain a Positive Attitude and Relieve Stress (massageenvy.com)
