TOO TIMID TO ACT

Last week I had an extraordinary experience of witnessing the results when there is a failure to act. Though at times it may seem as if you are boxed in a corner and you may feel that there is no way out..... there usually is..... if we look hard enough and are willing to take the risk. Being too timid to act only serves to exacerbate the problem causing it to spiral out of control.

This is usually evident in the workplace when you know that given circumstances may be morally and ethically wrong. Still if you maintain that its not your problem and it will soon go away then you are as much a part of the problem rather than the solution! Where does one get the courage to stand up for injustice? How do you attack it? Why do some people have the willpower while others don't? Is this an innate quality or does a certain type of "prevailing climate" fosters  the development of such a trait? 

Conversely, being able to address injustice at its roots requires a leap of faith, mental toughness, and an acknowledgement to suffer the consequences of one's action at all costs. This is not a task for the "faint" of heart but a "warrior". This is the flip side of being too timid to act!

According to Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, it is imperative that the lower level needs to be satisfied before those at the top of the pyramid. Is it that most people get stuck in the middle? The most fundamental needs are physiological, safety, love, belonging, and esteem.  The growth need is that of self actualization. 

What will you do when you are faced with injustice? Do you run away or do you fight? More importantly, how will you fight? Being too timid to act limits your potential for "self actualization". Did Abraham Maslow get it right?

Or is it that we are stuck at the need for safety? In situations like these I can't help but remembering these clips from the movie Office Space......

What will it be when your time comes? Will you be too timid to act?

Enjoy your week.

Petreno