In an age where everyone has a megaphone, a blog, a FB; we have to admit it feeds our ego. (by the way, this is a bad thing) Very slowly we are becoming more and more entitled giving into a victim – mindset where our thinking is all about how things affect us.
Then, when we get yelled at; or slighted; or treated unfairly (and it happens to everyone) we think: “Don’t you know who I am?” “How dare you?”
It seems our view is myopic…
The movie “Hidden Figures”, beautifully tells the true story of 3 African American women who who served as the brains behind John Glen’s orbit around the earth. But, the power of the movie lay in the strength of character of these three women who overcame incredibly adverse conditions in the workplace.
They understood they weren’t demeaned just because someone treated them unfairly. Their inner strength and confidence of who they were was stronger than the assaults that came against them. Even when credit was being given to others, there was no whining, no complaining…just a dignified sense of restraint and a willingness to persevere with grace. They were not focused on being offended because they had the wisdom to know that the key to their success was in their ability to exercise prudence instead of giving into their emotions.
In our current workplace culture , we may not see overt negative behavior and resentment, but it’s there: tempers that are simmering beneath the surface, stress related illnesses, burnout. We aren’t helping people, when in their development opportunities, we solely focus on their strengths; because it breeds a false sense of confidence. It says I don’t need remediation in any area because I’m focusing on only what I do well.
We can help ourselves by admitting our ego is our enemy – humility and restraint have to be our partners going forward.
(this is where I insert joke to lighten this up — Happy Friday)
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