Citizenship is a behavior trait. Citizenship is more than what country you live in. It is the act of being an active member of any group or community. It entails taking responsibility for the well-being and success of that group and actively contributing to it in some way. Citizenship requires commitment and a willingness to donate time, effort, and resources to make a difference.
Knowing this view of citizenship, how are you applying it to your workgroup?
Do you help others? Are you engaged with your coworkers? Do you know what everyone’s goals are? Better yet, do you help others accomplish their goals once you learn of them?
Being a citizen is hard. It requires work. Being a citizen requires dedication.
Living up to the expectations of being a citizen can be challenging. However, it is well worth the effort. Being a citizen requires conviction – believing that you are part of something bigger while still needing to take responsibility for your words and actions. It requires dedication and outward thinking, beyond yourself, to better serve your community or country. By understanding our role in the grand scheme of things, we can all make meaningful contributions as citizens – working together builds strength and resilience, leading to greater unity in society.
But that is just it; we live in an attention society. Few believe they are a part of society and view themselves as the society.
Social media has become an integral part of our lives, with studies showing that the average person spends more than two hours a day checking in on their accounts. But despite the surge in online activity, our genuine connection with each other has failed to keep up. In choosing to overshare moments from our daily lives to make them look better, we’ve just perpetuated a self-centered narrative and forgotten to take action that matters – whether volunteering at a soup kitchen or supporting an inspiring cause. If we want to build a society focused on natural well-being and productivity, we must stop pretending these values exist and start practicing them earnestly.
Being a citizen means sacrificing the self-image for the help image.
Build the society at the expense of the self. Believe in more than gaining likes.
Success is often measured by accumulation—whether material wealth, awards or social media likes. But gaining these accolades can leave us empty if it’s our only focus. It should never be about what you can extract from society but how you can use your gifts and skills to give back and add to the collective in a meaningful and selfless way. Building up our lives only to benefit ourselves has no real reward and goes against the principles of true success: inspiring those around us and propelling the human race forward together. We owe it to ourselves and those around us to reach past superficial affirmations, like likes on a photo, and strive for something more profound; working on projects that bring joy, promoting respect for others, and setting examples of personal growth—these are true desires for building a flourishing society.