Sapere Aude - The Crucial Question You Need to Ask Yourself Now

By Anna Hummel-Gumaelius

There is just one question that you need to ask yourself right now: “What is the task I will be loyal to from now on?”

The choices:.

1. The task is to do what is needed to secure Earth as the home of humanity long term

2. The task is to do what is needed to secure what I need

The consequences of each answer have a different impact on you and on Mother Earth. But whichever way you decide you need to be ready.

Myself I have the intellectual answer ready, but am I really ready for the implications? Every choice I make going forward needs to be aligned with that answer.

This process started years ago for me, but intensified after my 14-year old daughter had a school assignment on sustainability this November and gave me feedback that I had used up the resources of four Earths flying for work. I wanted and tried to convince myself that, “I had to, it’s for work!” – but there was just no way I could get out of it. Now I can go all the way and say that it was a lie!

And so here we are. Someone pushed a big red button saying “STOP.” Maybe Greta had become hoarse trying to scream louder and louder, trying to get the attention of adults who would not listen and just like me continued to say, “I have to travel, it’s for work,” “I have to pollute, that is what our company does,” “I have to consume, that is what makes me happy.”

Some people say that we are back to the 1950s, the good stuff of the 1950s plus digitalization. So, what have we regained from this timeout? TIME. Time for family, Time for reflection, Time for our feelings. Time to long for the people and activities we enjoy. Time to get to know our colleague as a full person. Time to be focused and not get distracted by an infinite number of alternatives.

Time is a finite currency. Money is not.

Someone has handed us a key. A key to an alternate journey, with an alternate task as our focus. Will You Use the Key? Or will you put it in a drawer and wait for a better time?

#leadership