Being Human

Being human means being happy. It means being emotional, compassionate, and even silly or whimsical. It even means being tired, afraid, and sad. Being human means we accept our self for being all this and more.

In this session, we will talk about defining ourselves as human beings by not just our abilities or potential, but also with the characteristics that make us human. We’ll talk about the issues we face everyday and what we can do about them. Above all, we will talk about accepting ourselves as human beings and not intelligent machines working tirelessly until we break.

We will also talk in detail about burnout and impostor syndrome which are the most common issues we see in people working with software, particularly open source. We will talk about self-compassion, empathy, and accepting ourselves as we are. We will also talk about growth not just in materialistic or professional terms, but also as complete and complex human beings that we are.

Overall, we will talk about not just accepting ourselves as human beings but also to recognize the community we have is built of such human beings. We will talk about how this rich community of people can support each other to recognize our failings and triumphs and celebrate both - how we should celebrate taking a break or even leaving as much as accomplishing something.

After this talk, the audience will be able to use some of the tools and exercises to handle common issues we face and most importantly, be able to accept themselves and everyone else as human beings - flawed, complex, and beautiful.