Memento Homo
Photo by Ilona Frey on Unsplash
In ancient times, when a Roman general achieved success and marched through the streets of Rome in triumph, an auriga (a slave) was appointed to walk behind him and every so often, whisper in his ear, “Memento Homo”.
Remember, you are only a man.
It was designed to remind the general (including, apparently, Julius Caesar himself) that while his achievements were worthy of admiration and adulation, he should not forget that he was a mere mortal.
I think that’s probably a worthwhile practice (minus the slave!) for most of us as we bask in the glow of our own successes. When we’ve achieved some material measure of achievement, it can feel as if we’re blessed with the Midas touch and that things can only get better (and certainly never any worse).
The reality isn’t quite so permanent - we’re never always as smart as we think. We’re mortals, doing our level best, trying to achieve whatever goal we’ve set out to achieve. And as we learn and gain experience and improve at our work, we do better. We achieve. We ‘succeed’.
But success is rarely ever permanent. It’s fluid, and we will have our ups and downs.
When we’re up, we think we’re immortal, and when we’re down, we think things can never get better. That converse is worth remembering too. While we’re never as smart as we may think we are, we’re never as dumb, either.
Memento Homo. Remember, you are only a man.
At our brightest moments, we need to stay humble. We need to remember where we came from, the problems and mistakes we made along the way. Not to bring ourselves down, but to remind ourselves that it was a journey, and that our path forward was achieved through hard work, collective effort and determination. In many ways, remembering our fallibility is a strength.
We need to maintain that humility as we assess and evaluate others we work with, as well - to understand where they are in their journey, so that we can help them. We need to remember that we shouldn’t punch down but rather we should lift up.
The minute we stop doing that is the beginning of the end.
Memento Homo. Remember, you are only a man.
H/T to Scott Galloway for the Auriga story.
