Does the first one win the jackpot?

Is posting a rainbow flag on company social media a thing of the past? Everyone uses green energy, what is news-worthy about that? In the race to be first, we often fall into the assumption that everything has already been heard and seen. But when it comes to meaningful things, such as responsibility, it is not shameful to join the group a little behind.

Last spring, the Finns got out of their homes. People rushing to the woods was a phenomenon: According to Metsähallitus, the number of visitors to national parks increased by 20 per cent from the previous year. And that’s good, because being in the woods has been proven to increase people’s well-being.

At first, when my social media feed was full of pictures of people spending time outdoors, I didn’t know how to react. Congratulations to these people, I thought. All these people have now found what some of us have been doing for years. The world where I’ve spent a large part of my life and enjoyed outdoor activities is being hijacked by people experiencing nature for the very first time.

How arrogant and wrong I was.

What’s the harm of someone finding something “new” that you’ve known about for a long time?

As in many other areas of life, the general opinion in communications has been that doing something first will significantly increase its attractiveness and value. People want to be pioneers, especially when it comes to responsibility.

In the race to be first, we often fall into the assumption that everything has already been heard and seen. Isn’t posting a rainbow flag on company social media a thing of the past? Everyone uses green energy, what is news-worthy about that?

The importance of meaningfulness

When it comes to meaningful things, it’s not silly at all to join the crowd a little later than others. Nor is it foolish to publicly speak about your values over and over again. Responsibility issues are challenging and that’s why they need to be repeated.

Of course, it’s good that someone opens the game. However, I believe that the world-changing movement will only come about through a large number of people. If we concentrate on finding out who was the first to do something, we will miss many things. How much bigger can something good get if everyone is welcomed to join?

So you should not belittle what you have achieved or not communicate it, even if the forerunners of the matter have already been established. Be brave, communicate good deeds openly and give others plenty of room to join in. Shared joy is not taken away from anyone: it only creates a lot more joy.