Have you noticed how we treat simple things like connecting with someone on LinkedIn as some huge achievement?
Just saw someone calling it “an honor” to be friends with Hisham Sarwar. Come on, yaar. He’s done great work, but he’s human like the rest of us. I’ve met Hisham several times – he’s an incredibly down-to-earth person who values real connections. I’m 100% sure he would never want anyone feeling “honored” just to be his friend or connection. People like him want genuine relationships, not worship.
This “chela pan” culture needs to stop. Today we place people on such high ranks that a simple connection becomes something to show off about. And tomorrow? One mistake and we throw them under the bus. We’ve seen this happen with Ismail, Arsalan and many others in the past.
A few months back, someone posted about being “honored to meet Sir Muhammad Irfan” at a company. My LinkedIn manager commented “Congratulations, what an achievement” on this post. I was genuinely upset – had to tell her never to do this again. Meeting someone for chai is not something to be congratulated for!
We’re all just regular people trying to do good work. No one should feel like royalty just because others want to connect with them.
Let’s bring some balance back. Respect each other as equals. Save the real praise for actual achievements.
What do you think? Isn’t it time we treated each other as humans, not celebrities?
#KeepItReal
Originally posted on Facebook on 10 April 2025.
