From Me to We

Have you ever had a moment when truth sweeps over you and it is unmistakable in its message? I was watching a video from Simon Sinek and he made a comment about the whole self-help culture, in that he found it very self-indulgent with books like “What are the 5 steps YOU can follow to becoming a millionaire” or “ What are the 7 steps YOU need to follow to get the career you want”. He asserted that the industry was too focused on “what can I get out of life and for me” as opposed to perhaps “ What are the 5 steps I can take to help someone lose weight” or “ What are the 7 steps I can follow to help the person next to me get the job they want”. Don’t get me wrong, I think personally that the self help movement has done tremendous   good, but perhaps its time for a shift in focus, from “ME” to “WE”.
We can get excited about how well we performed at work, how amazing the project was that we completed, but true fulfillment comes from helping others get what they want or need. We are wired that way from birth, and we get rewarded by happy chemicals in our body that tells it was a good thing to do. It is one of the biological mechanisms that creates communities and encourages us to procreate, because it feels good. Simon went to say the statistic about job dissatisfaction were highlighting not the fact the person didn’t like their job, the benefits were poor, they hated their jobs because they are stuck in a little cubicle alone and are not able to connect and support each other. Being cut off from our biological directive to care, nurture and support each inhibits the happy chemicals from being released, and therefore we derive no satisfaction from our job.
I find his line of thought fascinating and on point. I know when I feel my best is when I am helping someone with a problem. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I can make a difference in the life of another, and perhaps if I spent just a little more time focusing on make more lives better; my life would in turn become richer as a result. I often think about how challenged many are in this world, poor health, limited financial resources, no access to education, and it’s overwhelming at times. Simon’s message nudge me a bit to invest more of my daily focus on how I can find more ways to create connections, focus more on how my knowledge and influence can serve an ever greater good far beyond what I had intended it for. Even the act of writing this has put a smile on my face as I can already feel the shift in perception in my mind of where my life’s path is going to lead me.
Take the time to watch his video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llKvV8_T95M and let me know your thoughts on how you are going to go from “ME” to “WE”.
C. David Gilks Your Traveler