Want to Make the World a Better Place?
Of course you want to make the world a better place! Who doesn’t? The question is what are you willing to sacrifice to do it? Your career? Your social standing? Your independence?
When the rubber meets the road, only about one in 10 people claim “Humanity” as their Life Decision Pulse™. That is, only about 10% of people let their desire to make the world better guide their life’s decisions. Let’s face it, for many of us contributing to society and helping those less fortunate is something we promise to get to just as soon as we obtain job security, build some wealth, establish close personal relationships, accomplish our personal and career goals, have fun, make our family proud, and insure that we are free to come and go where we want when we want. In other words, so long as we have nothing else at all to do…like ever, we are all about caring for Humanity.
Some people, however, put Humanity above all else. When they make decisions like where to live, what jobs to accept, what things to spend their money on, they first look for which option will help them make the world a better place. Then and only then do they consider how a certain choice might impact their financial health, their social standing, and whether or not a certain choice might strain relationships with family and friends. (Caution: putting the needs of desperate strangers first will make waves with the people closest to you, and you’re kidding yourself if you think it won’t.)
Think Mother Theresa, Mohandas Gandhi, Margaret Mead, or St. Francis of Assisi. For people like this, Humanity is the trump card for every decision they make. It’s hard to argue that these people aren’t awfully good people. But my point is not to sing their praises and tell you to be like them. For these individuals, living any other way would be totally unsatisfying. That just ain’t true for 90% of the population, even if you consider yourself a “good person.” It’s not wrong, it’s just reality.
That said, chances are that some of the people reading this article right now do in fact have a Humanity Pulse. If you’re one of them, you’ll likely relate to the choices below that other people like you have made:
“Everyone on my team is committed to social responsibility. If they don’t have a strong moral compass, they aren’t going to fit.”
“I send my kids to a public school. I want them to be exposed to many cultures, and I want to help maintain the quality of our local schools.”
“I took my current job because the company has a strong reputation for social responsibility. I know that my work makes the world a better place.”
Sound like you?
Hey Nick,
Good post in that it makes you think, and makes some good points. My contention with the premise is that according to your examples, without groupthink or a collective mentality you can’t reach the same desired outcomes.
I would imagine in your line of work many of the people you come across are making great inroads everyday at improving certain aspects of humanity, but these individuals may not be surrounded by likeminded individuals and/or companies that share those same passions.
Is it an either/or, do you think one approach is more beneficial than another?
Excellent points, my friend! You’re absolutely right that circumstances can certainly stifle your efforts. You want to zig toward a better world, but your company, friends or family want to zag toward other concerns. My point is more about determining what you really want first and using that as the starting point for your life’s big decisions. If your company consistently prevents you from making decisions that would otherwise move you in the direction of Humanity, then I would argue that you need to find a new job. Of course, that would likely mean leaving the safety, comfort and prestige of your current job, so you’d have to be clear that Humanity is in fact what drives you more than security, comfort or prestige. That is why when it comes right down to making tough choices, only 10% of people actually put Humanity first. Lots of others do help Humanity in many small ways on a regular basis, and that is a great thing. But it’s only a rare few who are willing to put it at the top of their priority list.
As to your last question: Unfortunately, it is an either/or. One big reason why so many people struggle with indecision today is because we’ve all been sold a false notion that we can “have it all.” That just ain’t true. If you’re constantly changing directions (Humanity today, Power tomorrow, Security the next day…etc) you wind up going in a great big circle. Sadly, that’s how a lot of people feel today–like they are just chasing their tails with no real direction to their life.
Great thoughts, Kevin!
[...] example, my Decision Pulse is Freedom, but my number 2 direction is Humanity. In practice that means that the vast majority of my decisions need to take my need for Freedom [...]