---
title: A Part of the Whole
description: Individualism vs. Collectivism? Or maybe it's a little bit of each that makes us whole...
image: https://blog.peoplefirstps.com/hubfs/388%20-%20disconnect.svg
---

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 August 17, 2013

# A Part of the Whole

[Deb Calvert](https://blog.peoplefirstps.com/connect2lead/author/deb-calvert)  ·   1 minute read

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is overtaken by the Borg. This race of cyborgs says to him over and over again "resistance is futile." Eventually, Picard succumbs. Indeed, resisting the Borg (and the changes they wanted to make to him) was futile.

For the Borg, making these changes was viewed as an improvement. These changes would help the community.  For Picard, these changes represented a loss of self. He resisted because he did not want to lose what was unique about who he was.

This is the human condition. We're all striving to be unique, individual, special and self-determined. At the same time, we want to be a part of something greater, a contributor to the collective. At times, these two desires compete with one another.

So how do you reconcile being yourself and being a part of something greater than yourself at the same time?

There's a good news and bad news component to this answer.

The good news is what you have to offer as an individual is exactly what the collective needs. We have all been endowed with unique gifts and special talents that can benefit the whole. That's why it's so important to celebrate each individual and to value our differences.

Now the bad news. It's not really bad news unless you're entrenched in your individualism. You see, in addition to being individuals, we must also be mindful of our place in our community. This hearkens back to "no man is an island." Or in more modern times, "it takes a village." We are all a part of the same body.

Being interdependent upon one another makes us stronger, not weaker, so long as everyone embraces our interdependence. Things get out of whack when some are dependent and some try to be independent. When we try to resist our role as a contributor to the collective, we flounder.

Resistance is futile. No one can survive independent of others. We all count on others to get our most basic needs met. They count on us, too. Like it or not, we are all a part of each other.

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