In this blog may I welcome all the readers to reflect on the idea that each person is Unique? Even among twins who are very similar to each other it is found that they were found some differences among them too. When people grow up in similar environments or cultural backgrounds even then there are differences found among them. The question can arise as to in what ways are people different from each other and what then might be some implications of such a fact in interpersonal relationships and helping people in different ways. Scientific studies in Psychology indicate that people are different in their personalities, intelligence, aptitudes, interests, and achievements. These differences have profound implications for parenting, teaching and learning, career choices, helping of any kind like health care or counseling.
If we do not take cognizance of the reality of the uniqueness of people we can make errors in different situations that do not promote well-being of persons and communities. Among others they can be even as you would have observed in your life and can add to the list:
- Unfavorable comparison of children in the same family.
- Overemphasis in grades alone in school systems to lead to unhealthy stress and competition
- Marital discord when spouses expect each other to be like themselves or others
- Failing to leverage diversity in teams and organizations
- Missing out on the potentials of the differently able and the gifted
What are some practical ways to incorporate the principle that each person is unique to add to the quality of caring in life and work? You may supplement to the ones mentioned below:
- As a parent you can appreciate the individual differences in strengths and validate them instead of putting pressure of your children to be like his or siblings. Competition has limitations in helping people.
- As a teacher you may look for strengths of each child and to the extent possible encourage them with recognition for the same as well as nudge them to compete to some extent and /or compensate through other choices of hobbies of interest to the child.
- Spouses can celebrate their differences and utilize them for the good of the family in facing various responsibilities
- As supervisors and managers you can identify different talents both in recruitment and development of the individual and the team. Contradictions and conflicts can them transform into complementarity and diversity as strength
- With different learning challenges and levels of giftedness, all in responsibility of other can facilitate their unique ways; customize the systems of mentoring to help them realize their potential for the good of the community at large.
- As helping professionals in health or social sectors, one can benefit from the wisdom of Hippocrates considered as father of medicine when he said Treat the person of the patient rather than the disease.
- As individual members of the society, it is both important to validate our inherent worthwhileness as human beings as well as to appreciate the good and gifts in others.