The Illusion of Professionalism
People often complain that professional interactions, both within and outside organizations, feel artificial, superficial, and insincere. And yet, when they enter these spaces, they play the same game—perpetuating the very feeling they resent. The game of winning negotiations, being right, earning recognition, keeping the peace. Maintaining appearances, speaking the language of corporate culture, dressing the part, using fashionable buzzwords. Suppressing spontaneity in the name of professionalism. The stiffness in posture, attire, and speech. None of it reflects who we are, what we believe in, or how we feel. It drains energy. It burns us out.
Emails, Masks, and Silent Battles
Emails are polished, often laced with veiled sarcasm when frustration simmers beneath the surface. Some people need a cigarette break just to cool down before hitting “send.”
The Fear That Keeps Us Playing the Game
We keep playing this game out of fear—fear of losing our jobs, fear of stepping outside the only system we know. We’ve heard whispers of a different way of being, but we dismiss them as Utopian. We tell ourselves we are realists. And so, we continue reinforcing the system we critique with our own sweat, stress, and silent tears. A system that keeps us alive, yet slowly kills us.
Gas, Brake—Slaves to the System
If we were to confront our deepest fears, many would lead us to the same imagined outcome: ending up destitute, under a proverbial bridge. But what if there are no bridges in our town? What if the reality we fear is just an illusion? When we truly examine it, we often find that our fears are built on sand. How small and powerless must we feel in the face of a system we feed daily with our energy?
The Cost of Inauthenticity
How much does inauthenticity hurt?
Every story is an incantation. Words carry more than meaning—they hold the intention of the speaker, the energy of their experience.
Security, Trust, and Freedom
We need security because fear stifles our potential. We need trust to give ourselves and others freedom. We don’t always need to rationalize everything—our minds interpret the past through the laws we impose on the future. What if we simply remained present, attuned to ourselves? That compass never fails.
How the Present Shapes the Past
What happens today shapes our past. How? The past exists only in our memory, woven into stories and objects, which themselves are fragments of remembrance. When we evolve, we see our past differently. We forgive more easily, understand more deeply. Some people are stuck in specific historical moments—World War II, the French Revolution, or ancient times—returning to these narratives over and over. They are moved by them, fixated on them. For them, time stopped there. The phrase “back in my day” is another trap. It keeps people tethered to a past that prevents them from fully living in the present. They see less, hear less, remain absent—perhaps still present in an inherited trauma.
Seeing Ourselves in Others
Recognizing these connections—our shared histories, struggles, and fears—helps us see others differently. Like ourselves. Anger dissolves. Frustration fades. Impatience turns to understanding. We open up, not by spilling our wounds, but by recognizing that in helping others, we help ourselves. The division between “us” and “them” disappears. And that, in itself, is liberating.
GoFish! Collective 