The Replacements

I was intrigued by the article that Karrey Britt from Wellcommons wrote about Lifestyles to blame to depression epidemic.

I have always wondered, amidst being so connected to everyone else in the world how anyone can be lonely. I agree with Dr. Ilardi on a lot of the information that he presents. It just doesn't make any sense. We are constantly surrounded by people. At the store, basketball game, downtown, at work, on facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc.

It seems as though our culture has stopped putting any importance on the group, and put all the importance on the individual. 

Everything is put on the success of the individual. People have become replaceable. If some part of a team can't function in that part of a team, it's not a big deal. We'll just find someone else.

One of the opinions I have on our culture being lonely is that no one wants to take the risk of merely being a replacement for someone else.

Here are a few thoughts on replaceable people.

1. If you view people as replaceable, you don't value what you have
I remember growing up and I didn't have much in the way of clothes. My shoes, shirt or my jeans weren't replaceable. If I lost or messed up those clothes, I wasn't getting more. If you're constantly thinking that people are replaceable in your life, you will never value the things that you have and appreciate the individuality that each person possesses.

2. If you view people as replaceable, you never need anyone but yourself to be a success
People don't want to be just wanted. They need to be needed. They need to know that they have some intrinsic value to contribute to life. Wanting someone is different than needing them. Our motivation for simply wanting people is wholly for our own benefit and success. Typically, these relationships merely exist so that we can use people to get where we want, and then we throw them to the curb and replace them with someone at the next level.

I'll have some more thoughts on this tomorrow.