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Insights to Inspire / Leadership and Business

Walking the Talk: Safety Nets and Responsibility to Improve Our World

author

Martin Bouza

I believe in actions. They speak louder than words, as the saying goes. While words communicate, actions show the world our true intentions. And to me, living a meaningful life means being coherent and consistent with my actions, being myself in all areas of my life. Let me explain. Recently, my 12-year-old son and I […]

Walking the Talk: Safety Nets and Responsibility to Improve Our World

I believe in actions. They speak louder than words, as the saying goes. While words communicate, actions show the world our true intentions. And to me, living a meaningful life means being coherent and consistent with my actions, being myself in all areas of my life. Let me explain.

Recently, my 12-year-old son and I were driving when he asked some questions about climate change. After discussing what it is, its causes and its effects, he asked a powerful question: “Dad, can your company do something about this?”

Here’s the thing: the first 15 years of a person’s life shape their personality. Experiences and stresses during that time leave a mark. It doesn’t mean we’re finished products; we’re always in progress and can change throughout life. However, change requires effort, and humans are naturally inclined toward laziness. Achieving lasting change demands commitment, coherency, and consistency, fueled by the motivation of knowing our efforts will pay off. Changing is hard, getting to know oneself can be challenging and may take a lifetime for some individuals, but it’s crucial for personal growth.

At Arionkoder, I work with adults who are constantly striving to be better each day, and I enjoy seeing them grow and build incredible futures. I feel that part of the reason why they do so is because they feel secure to try, experiment and drive change. This is also known sometimes as a safety net culture. And while I love it, I believe that to truly make the most out of it, we need to be mindful of some considerations:

  1. Vulnerability is important, but so is accountability. Don’t wait for others to build safety for you: share your hopes, goals, roadblocks, insecurities, and pains. But remember that sharing is only the first step; and if I demand action from others without doing it myself, I become a powerless victim. It’s okay to ask for help, but we also need to pull our weight to become empowered.
  2. Show yourself as you are. Sugarcoating aspects of yourself eventually shows. Be genuine, as we’re all predisposed to cooperate. Essentially, a good safety net requires compromises, change, negotiation, and action. Others are giving you a chance to enter their hearts and minds: reciprocate that.
  3. Work on building your self-love. A healthy self-esteem helps navigate interactions with those asking about your choices and understanding that they are not a threat, they aren’t looking to undermine you but rather to understand and collaborate. A safety net doesn’t mean we don’t ask questions that might not fall well with others, it means asking questions in an emotionally educated way with respect and goodwill.

Being coherent, consistent, and feeling secure, I realized my son’s question was valid. It wouldn’t be right to do anything about it, as Arionkoder’s purpose is to create better futures for humanity. Climate change is part of that. Long story short, Arionkoder will implement climate-conscious actions starting this 2024. But that’s not the point of this reflection; it’s about remembering our actions transform the world more than our words. I invite you to join us on this journey toward a better future for us all.