Replaced At The Snap Of A Finger

If there's one thing we value so much on this planet, besides wealth, it would be human beings. I was brought up to believe that I'm special and so is the fellow next to me. But does that make us irreplaceable? Beyoncé sings,

Don't you ever for a second get to thinking
You're irreplaceable

Somewhere in my head, I had accepted this knowledge—we are not irreplaceable—but never fully applied it until an incident drove this message right into me. This happens often when we are given a position of responsibility, and people rely on us. There's this heady feeling of, “Without me, it wouldn't work or they couldn't do it”, that is until something happens which proves the situation can be handled without us! That realisation is always shocking and brings us to our senses but it occurs when it's already too late.

My head of department (HOD) at work was our go-to for everything and he gave us a hard time about it. We don't have a choice—we need him and must abide by his rules to get our work done even when it sets off our egos. I know. Even the lowliest man or woman has an ego.

One day, we were expecting officials from the government to visit our office for a meeting and the HOD was unavailable. His secretary tried to reach him but couldn't. The head of management was anxious, to put it mildly. So she instructed the rest of the staff to work together and ensure the meeting went smoothly without this lapse becoming obvious.

His assistant took charge and it wasn't easy because there were certain things that she should have been aware of, but this HOD had kept them from her. Fortunately, the meeting was a success even though the workload was more on us. Later, the HOD showed up in the office after the meeting with profuse apologies and let's just say, he went toe to toe with the head of management in her office. This led to his assistant taking over his job while he was relegated to the position of the assistant.

That was a hard lesson for everyone in the office. Something of this magnitude had never happened before until that day. If it were a time when the economy was great and the cost of living wasn't as crazily high as it is now in my country, this man could have resigned and found another company that would appreciate what he had to offer. Now he couldn't do that.

Or maybe our head of management made that decision to pressure or shame him into leaving without actually firing him? I'm not sure but Beyoncé's song came to mind that day in the office. I learned that no one is irreplaceable.

Some people give their all just to make ends meet and when they make a mistake or simply take a day off work, they are quickly replaced. I remember telling one of my colleagues, who burns the candle at both ends, to go easy with his schedule and take his health seriously. If he falls ill and stays away from work longer than expected, he could easily lose his job to another. Management would not care whether he'd been with the company for many years. Just like the snap of a finger, he can be replaced.

I guess this lesson applies to every part of our lives as well. Relationships included. I don't let myself dawdle over any opportunity that comes so that isn't replaced with something I may not like or prefer.

On the other hand, when it comes to our personality, I believe we are irreplaceable. We are unique, in other words, and no one else can replace or be like us. This points to embracing our individuality. This was Natasha Bedingfield's message in her beautiful and inspiring song, Unwritten.

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