Credo before Ego

How many of the people you know have a credo? I don’t know many that do. Or at least I don’t know many that stick to one. How many companies develop a credo for their employees to adhere to? Not many. It’s more like rules. What you can and should do vs. what you shouldn’t. That’s a bit sad, don’t you think? That’s why we lose our focus, because we can’t have one as long as we don’t have a direction.

And what’s even worse is that we nurture our egos before even thinking about a credo. Because it is easy. The ego comes from within whilst the credo often comes from outside. While the former is created naturally as a result of evolution, the latter has to be defined or accepted. And when there are others involved in this process, it becomes even harder. It has been like this for centuries. 

Credos originate in religious dogmas and as they were easier to accept in former times (mostly due to the lack of education), they have become more and more difficult to adopt in more recent times. However, most credos, not necessarily religious ones have brought societies forward, created grounds for progress. It is undoubtedly true that some credos have been producing negative outputs, but those are the exceptions. 

In recent times however, credos can be easily contested, debated, challenged. And that is a good thing. As long as there are reasonable arguments involved. Nothing wrong with that. But what happens when egos become more important? This is also an outcome of progress. We have become more educated, more informed, more important. We tend to become more focused on us. 

And what’s wrong with that? Technically nothing, but theoretically a lot. Society is made by the individuals that comprise it. But when these individuals become interested only in their own good, society becomes obsolete, pointless. It may sound a little bit farfetched, but this to me sounds like the beginning of the end of civilisation. 

When I look around I see less and less credo driven people and more and more egos coming forward. It has become the new normal, since we have elected leaders like this, don’t you think? But I feel like most people don’t even realise it. Showing off was always a part of us, ever since we started to feel the need for social recognition. But I feel like we’re going a bit too far.

Our parents were adding titles next to their names on the door bell sign. We used to laugh about that. But have you peeked at your LinkedIn profile lately? It has become the perfect instrument for ego nurturing. And this is just one example. Yes, I know, your argument is that you never know when your profile will pop-up on another employers’ laptop. But is it only that?

Now think about how many times you’ve put your ego first at work. Both in relation with your colleagues but mostly in relation to certain tasks or projects. I know, you are important, you’ve achieved stuff, but is that really relevant in relation with the task you have to complete? Is recognition of your previous personal achievements more important than the outcome of this thing that you have to do? Most probably not. But it is difficult to accept that. Because we are important! And the more recognition we get, the more important we are. Unfortunately in many cases this means the less focused we are. 

I may not be spending a lot of time in churches or praying, but even I know that the Bible teaches us to be humble. And I’m pretty sure that this can be said about other religions’ fundamental writings. So how to deal with being humble and important at the same time? That is the real question. My answer is simple, define a credo for yourself and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a few simple principles. But make sure you remember it every time you feel like showing off your importance. Regardless the context. 

Credo before ego!

Thumb Photo by Seb Atkinson on Unsplash.