We are so often defined and labelled by what we do. In fact, many of us who have lost our jobs no longer feel validated, as for the longest time, we have identified ourselves with what we do, not who we are.
Many of us have conscious bias. Do you notice how often one meets someone new and after asking their names, the next step is often to ascertain what is it they do for a living, and then pigeonhole them accordingly in your mind based on their profession? Very often it is also based on one’s ethnic background.
A case in point is Enrique Camacho who was a colonel in the US Army, which really is a big deal kind of job if you think about it. He worked for the most recognized names in defence and served at national agencies.
“Then I started Model Citizen Coffee Company and realized I need more Money! So between writing business plans and developing product lines, I drove an Uber and managed a 4.99999999 star rating – thank you Mr. 3 Star, blew-up my 5-star rating.”
Camacho spoke about his life-changing experience as someone who is used to having people look up to him and literally salute him everywhere he goes. It was a huge change. Driving an Uber was a whole different ballgame.
“Here’s what I learned in the experience. Nobody cared that I was “Kind of a Big Deal”. I asked my Uber riders a lot of questions and empathized with: the guy who just caught his fiancé cheating on him; the single mom dealing with teens while going to her second job; the Women’s National Figure Skating champ working on her program for Worlds; and the PhD candidate returning to Haiti to improve his country.”
What he found was, strangely enough, as much as he knew their stories, nobody cared to ask him about his.
“Funny thing is, only 3 out of 453 passengers I delivered ever asked about my story. Perhaps the 450 thought, Enrique Camacho, was a middle-aged immigrant supporting his family the best way he could, with a limited skill set and future.
Truth bomb hit me, we’re only as good as our last race. People don’t care what we’ve done. They’re interested in what we can do for them today and tomorrow. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a realization that we must continuously learn and grow, so we don’t stagnate.”
Camacho said his experience really made him sit up and take notice of people around him and how we often treat people based on what they can do for us.
“My hope is that when we encounter Enrique Camacho the Uber driver, waiter, clerk, truck driver, cable guy or hammer wielder, we’ll engage them with the same curiosity we engage those we deem important. Be brave and enjoy our fellow man/woman’s story. It helps us develop new perspectives and appreciate others, which ultimately makes us all better.”
The post Defining ourselves by what we do and the problem with conscious bias appeared first on The Independent News.