Case Scenario
Usman is a rather shy 27-year-old IT geek who works with a Telecommunications Giant,
having graduated with a first class in computer science. However, he prefers his own solitary
company – working on a system, and struggles to give a presentation or participate in
meetings. He is so painfully shy that everyone is aware and some mock him for it. He is also
very uncomfortable with it and is often racked by anxiety ahead of the weekly team
meetings. If only they will exempt him from the meetings and just allow him to send his
report via e-mail….but his Boss was not having any of that. ‘I will have to continue to endure
the torture’, he concluded to himself.
Thompson on the other hand, is not as brilliant as Usman, and he always comes to Usman
when he has technical difficulties. But he is a cheerful people person and an excellent
communicator. He skillfully deploys humour and simple but elegant language to explain
complex IT concepts that were conceptualized by Usman. Thus, whenever they have a sales
pitch to deliver for a potential client, Thompson always made the presentations – even
though Usman frequently came up with the concepts and designs. Thompson acknowledges
that he has to work harder on his IT skills and is understudying Usman and improving daily.
Commentary:
Four characteristics define good mental health, according to the World Health Organization
(WHO), and the very first characteristic is the ‘ability to fulfil one’s unique potential’. The
others include: coping with the normal stress of daily living; working productively; and
participating meaningfully in the community.
But how do we fulfil our unique potentials, when we are all different, as is evident from the
case of Mr Usman and Mr Thompson above? From the get-go, their potentials (innate
strengths) differ, but they all bring something to the table. And they have a smart Boss who
is deploying them according to their respective strengths for the benefit of the Team.
However, the best outcome for Usman and Thompson is to identify their unique strong
points and consolidate them; while resolving to work on their current weak points and
transform them into areas of strength.
This realization – that we are not static beings; and that every single day we wake up and
draw breath is a fresh opportunity to do better, and to strive continuously for self-
improvement and self-actualization –is the essence of today’s article. Today’s title is a
popular quote that captures this very essence. It is based on the factual premise that each
and every one of us is unique and different from every other person that is alive now or ever
lived in the past. This is evidenced by the fact that we all have unique fingerprints and DNA
for instance. No two individuals, not even identical twins, will have the same fingerprints.
Thus, YOU ARE UNIQUE and different from everyone else. We are all ORIGINALS.
Deriving from the above is the need to stay in your own lane and live your own life without
unfair comparisons to others….because YOU ARE DIFFERENT. But while staying in your lane,
it will be foolhardy for Usman and Thompson above, to simply resign themselves to their
respective areas of strengths; while neglecting their glaring weaknesses. Imagine if they
have a very big client and Thompson falls ill and Usman has to give the presentation. Or
Usman is ill and Mr Thompson has to respond to rigorous interrogations on the underlying
concepts and assumptions behind the presentation and he is clueless about it. The company
may lose the big client.
Therefore, we should all strive for personal development and take every single day that we
are blessed with as an opportunity to consolidate our strengths and overcome our
weaknesses. This work in progress is a lifelong project – as the room for self-improvement is
a room that can never be filled up while we remain alive. The focus should be to ensure that
today’s version of you, is always head and shoulders better than how you were yesterday.
And then you should be planning to ensure that who you become tomorrow, should be a
better version and an improvement on your skills and competence today. This is the key to
adding value, gaining emotional satisfaction and ultimately attaining self-actualization.
Conclusion:
Self-improvement is a task for each and every one of us, and there are time-tested
principles that can help us along this pathway to success. These include continuous learning
and curiosity, self-awareness (honest introspection), discipline and self-control, hard work,
humility, focus and perseverance, willingness to learn from others and patience. These
principles, if imbibed, will help us amplify our potential and overcome our weaknesses – and
we will be emotionally happier in our own skin.
Dr Jibril Abdulmalik
Tribune Article for the column “Your Mental Health & You”
Thursday, 20th July 2023
Asido Foundation
www.asidofoundation.com
Asivuri Consulting
www.asivuri.com
