As the first semester comes to a close, it is needful to evaluate the benefits enjoyed from the study of the array of courses assigned to us. For today, I will be looking at the nature of human beings.
From our first session and across the recommended materials, I understood that as humans we are in a social mix. Our existence is largely due to a healthy inter-dependence between us. We do not exist in isolation but in a group – a culture. In this setting, there lies a unique balance between good and evil, right and wrong or positive and negative. In Chinese, we would say “Ying” and “Yang”.
However, as an individual, we have our drives, goals and ambitions but all these are internal to us and can be directly influenced by ourselves. We have to develop the drive to succeed despite the odds as we are absolutely responsible for the outcomes of our lives. A wise man once said – “You are absolutely responsible for the outcomes of your lives”. With a strong internal structure we break through ceilings in different spheres, nonetheless, another factor still holds.
As humans we are in perpetual interaction with other humans and other creatures and we receive signals from them. These signals are gotten from our 5 physical senses – eyes, nose, skin, tongues and ears as well as other internal organs such as our minds. These signals if managed properly can support us live healthy but if not can affect us negatively. We need to adequately respond to external stimuli in the pursuit of our dreams.
Man has a variety of sense organs which directly or indirectly affect him. We are not independent of our feelings but through emotional intelligence we can respond adequately to those feelings in a healthy way. As we interact with the external world, we obtain meaning in three major ways – work, love and courage. Work speaks to how we make a living, either through entrepreneurship or a career in an organization. Love speaks to that which we are passionate about – that things that lights the spark in our eyes. Courage speaks to that child in us that dares to conquer the world. Although many have lost track of these three and are living on auto-pilot, it is necessary to search deep down and bring forth who we were created to be.
When we as humans get involved in a new situation, we go through three distinct phases – First, the period following the new environment characterized by shock. Next, we get entrenched into the new environment which involves relative apathy and lastly the period of release from these events (liberty). Man cannot control his feelings but can manage them in a healthy way. This is a reflection of his choice. Our freedom choice as humans is the baseline of our dignity.
In summary, our sum total is based on both our input and the external contributions. We are not alone in this world and certainly, the world would end when we live so we should maximize our stay here.
Life, Love, and Life
#NHB #MMBA4
