A commitment to social responsibility can help you in surprising ways.
We are social creatures.
Some people are more social than others; but we are all social creatures. Some people are more relational than others. There are people who are naturally less relational who get their kicks from analyzing the world and getting things done, while there are others who are naturally more relational who get meaning from having productive relationships and giving people value. Both types of people have different needs, perceptions of others, and a more preferred way of working together. Neither are right or wrong; but will definitely impact how each of us build and maintain relationships. Click the video below to learn more about your SocialStyle and how you impact the people around you.
We need to belong.
Regardless of where we are within the “Relational Matrix” (yes, I just made that up), we all have social needs. Abraham Maslow says that once we’ve satisfied our survival needs (air, food, water, sleep etc) and our safety and security needs (physical and emotional safety & security) our next level needs are social. We all have a need for love and to feel like we belong. In fact, your quality of life, health, and longevity may depend on it. A Psychology Today article titled Do Religious People Really Live Longer? looks at health and life expectancy rates in countries all around the world that are both secular and of faith. In countries where people of faith are part of the majority they enjoy better health and tend to live longer. In more secular countries where religious belief is not the majority, non-believers enjoy health advantages and longer life expectancies.
My “take-away” from the article is that people who enjoy good health and longer life expectancy experience a higher quality of life because they feel like they belong and are accepted or as the article states, they feel “fully integrated in their communities”. This means that people feel like they are part of something, that they belong, are accepted and valued, and can therefore contribute and make a difference. What happened in Ferguson and Baltimore was as much about population of people who don’t feel like they belong and are accepted as it was about cops killing people.
We have social responsibility.
If it’s true that a person’s health and life expectancy are directly related to feeling like they belong and are accepted; is it fair to assume that when people feel the opposite, they may experience a lower quality of life, poorer health, and potentially a shorter life? I think so! This really puts in perspective how important it is that we try to respect and value one another, and help people feel fully integrated in our communities. For men, when we behave in this way, we’re not just benefiting ourselves. We are setting an example for others, including young people. It’s not always easy and I outlined some reasons why in my previous post The Myth of Positive People. This also makes me think of all the tragedies we experience (directly and indirectly) because people don’t feel like they belong, such as bullying, suicides, school shootings, and riots. And what about all the people who haven’t taken such extreme measures, but wake up everyday struggling with sadness, depression, fear, anxiety, and hopelessness because of other people… because they don’t belong… because they don’t feel integrated in anything bigger than themselves.
I don’t know about you, but given what’s at stake, I can’t help but feel some responsibility to the world around me in how I interact with and treat others. Think about it! How we show up impacts the quality of experience for the people around us. We have the ability… the power to add quality or stress to the lives of everyone we come in contact with. We can make a positive impact.
How’s the saying go?
“With great power, comes great responsibility.”
Something to think about!
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Previously published at JasonKiesau.com.
Photo: Jeff Kubina/Flickr
