A week ago that loveable Sesame Street character Elmo asked his over 450,000 followers on X “Just checking in! How’s everyone doing?” To his surprise he was inundated with a lot of answers, and almost all were not good. It turns out many people are unhappy, sad, depressed and generally miserable because of the situation in Ukraine, Gaza, the Mid-East in general, and a consistent pattern of mass shootings in this country. The people at Sesame Street were surprised by the reaction to the supposedly innocent post, but responded by saying, “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned it is important to ask a friend how he is doing.” What does the Code have to say about this?
The Code says, “I will be a positive influence on the relationships on the team.” We generally think this refers to how teammates are getting along with each other, and how each of us, as teammates, can help build relationships on the team. But, we agree with what Elmo learned: it is important to ask a friend how he or she is doing. We do need to know how the people we know “are doing.” Getting along with teammates is one thing, but caring about how they are doing emotionally is a more important thing. It’s also important for us to be willing to share with a few friends the challenges we struggle with in our own lives. It is this willingness to engage with others that leads us in the final section of the Code to be concerned about our community and world. So, how are you doing?
