No one is indispensable

I met a young intern recently. Although he was on a school attachment with a company, his brilliant performance was on par with some of the full time staff there. His boss appreciated his work.

When it came to the end of this attachment, some people asked him, “Why don’t you stay on for a couple of weeks more? It is a rare opportunity to find a boss who likes you, and trusts you to handle some of the important matters in the company.”

He shrugged his shoulders, smiled and replied frankly, “No one is indispensable.”

He said, “Even though I might seem like an essential person in the company now, once I leave, the job can easily be taken up by somebody else. The company continues to move on; nothing stops still just because I have left.”

His words are true, but sometimes, so true that it hurts the ears.

It makes one feel like you are just a soldier on the battlefield, when you are down; the next one takes your place. As easy as that.

Nevertheless, there is no need to bring yourself down just because you may not be as important as you thought you were or hoped to be. A sense of self-importance is necessary, be it at home or at work, because it makes one feel good about themselves. The danger comes in when one goes “overboard”, and takes the world to be his own, or feels that he is the pivot the world should revolve on.

Sometimes, when we are upset, and we see that the world is still busy with its own matters, people walk swiftly past us, or people busy doing work, a voice cries out in us, “I am so upset, why does nobody care?”

Sometimes, the more you expect, the greater the disappointment when things do not go your way.

I once watched a Korean show where a girl’s fiancé died on the day of their marriage. One day a few months later, when she was mourning his death, she lamented that people around him have gone on with their lives happily. She cried, “Why have they forgotten about you?” And she ended up asking herself, “Will I forget you one day?”

In this context, it seems like anyone and everyone can be “indispensable”, as in, the world does not stop just because of you. But, that is looking at the macro aspect.

In the big picture, no one is indispensable in the world. It would have been disastrous, if the world is dependent on one person.

But, to people who care about you, you are indispensable.