20 Jul The World Is A Mess Because No One Plays Their Role

Look, no one can do everything. Not only is that unrealistic, but it is also egotistical. Throughout human history, we have always functioned as a community, and within that community everyone has a role. Today’s world is as chaotic as a psychotic ex with a disturbing fire starting fetish because everyone is trying to do everything except their natural role. Everyone want’s to be something they are not, and that is exactly how we got in this mess.

Individualism = Ego

I believe that people sold on trying to do it all by themselves (Individualism) are running on the fumes of ego. Obvious face slapping logic and common sense will tell you that a team can accomplish more than the individual. Then why do people push to try to do it all themselves? It’s because their self esteem and self worth are tied to this pipe dream. They want to feel strong, independent, empowered, and self sufficient. Let me ask you something; when in history have societies and tribes done all things as an individual and it worked out long term? Thats what I thought.

The super sized dose of reality, as hard as it is to swallow, is that everyone has a role to play. This is true in nature as well as everything has its place and particular function in order for the entire system to work efficiently. What we have today are people trying to play other people’s roles all so they feel better about themselves. Damn the results! And those results are likened to a janitor trying to run a nuclear reactor with a mop. That sh-t ain’t gonna end well.

A Ship With No Rudder

Imagine society as a business (which in capitalism, it technically is). You have executives leading by making executive decisions, you have directors directing the activities for their departments, managers managing the staff, and specialists executing their specialties. Each position needed for the business to function. Now, can you imagine if everyone in the organization was an executive? Nothing would get done and the business would never have gotten off the ground. What if everyone was a specialist with no executive team leading the direction of the business? Then you’d have lots of things getting done, but none of it contributing to the strategic success of the business. This is what happens when everyone tries to play a role other than their own; the system doesn’t work correctly and rarely produces positive results.

Everyone Can’t Be The Leader

I believe this modern tendency to try to play a role other than your own is 100% derived from insecurity. I’ve noticed that everyone want’s to be the leader, the business owner, the inspirational influencer with a huge following. In reality, they are not looking to fill those roles, what they really want is to feel important. Because of the cultural social infrastructure of our current society, people feel more insecure than ever. They don’t feel loved, they don’t feel heard, and they don’t feel valued. They try to substitute these emotions with the perceived status of a leadership role in the hopes that they will suddenly be and feel important. This is a fool’s errand.

Embrace Your Strengths

Every individual has their own unique talents. Some are good at fixing things, some at providing emotional support, some at managing projects, and others at providing the foresight to strategize what direction the group should go in. I’m a firm believer that while you can learn to do almost anything, these natural strengths are built in from childhood. This should be apparent to any parents with multiple children and seeing how they are each unique with unique strengths and weaknesses. It’s when they embrace their strengths and manage their weaknesses that they set themselves on the path to success.

Now, embracing your strengths doesn’t mean only sticking to one thing and not trying others. You need a plethora of experiences in life to be well rounded. It does mean however that you need to accept your weaknesses and know when something is not your lane (enter humility). Not just for the sake of avoiding failure or embarrassing yourself, but for the community or team that is depending on you to support the group. Remember, it’s not all about you.

Musical Magic

I see a group of people each playing their role like a hit band. You have your lead vocalist singing and encouraging the crowd to sing along, your drummer setting the tone for the pace and intensity of the song, your bassist functioning of the glue for the rhythmic foundation, and your guitarist jamming a riffs that makes people move. Each role having its intended purpose that contributes to the overall musical enjoyability and success of the band. If one of the members decides to do one of the other’s role that day, it leaves a big hole in the sound of the song that doesn’t quite feel right. Not to mention that they’d be probably fighting with each other. Again, stay in your lane.

The Fix Is In Your Back Pocket

So how do we fix this common problem in our current society and communities? First step, figure out who you are. What are you good at, what are likes, dislikes, what do you naturally do when no one is looking or what do you do automatically even when no one is paying you to do it? Understand the core of who “you” is; embrace it. Second step, use who you naturally are to your advantage and play your role better than anyone else. Own it. Live it. Learn to thrive in it. This is the true path to the intersection of success and happiness. A path in which you can provide for yourself and love ones AND be at peace with yourself. This is Willy Wonka’s golden ticket chillin in your back pocket and it gets you all the delicious success infused candy that you want. Eat up my friends.

The purpose of this GI SAID IT blog is simple, to provide perspective. GI delivers this unique perspective in a style that is unapologetically honest, straight to the point, and at times a bit brutal. GI SAID IT: Brutally honest, no BS. Click for more GI SAID IT shows and articles.