IN HINDZSIGHT: "Just Human?"
Host: Hindz
Release Date: September 9, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode of "IN HINDZSIGHT" dives deep into the phrase "I'm only human"—examining its use, implications, and how it shapes our self-perception and behavior. Hindz explores how this phrase often serves both as a shield and a limitation, and encourages listeners to reframe it as a proclamation of our potential and responsibility, rather than an excuse for destructive habits or emotional reactions. The episode weaves personal stories, societal observations, and reflective advice, inspiring listeners to embrace growth and emotional refinement as central to the human experience.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Return & Personal Updates
- Hindz is back in his studio after a break, noting renewed energy as his daughter starts her final year of high school.
- (01:36): "My studio is actually right by her school... so we locked in. Expect the podcast to be consistent."
- Touches on joy found in "micro connections"—friendly, spontaneous exchanges with community members.
- (03:12): "I love those little moments throughout the day... just sharing like spontaneous energy with the people you see."
2. The Phrase "I'm Only Human" – Comfort or Limitation?
- Hindz expresses discomfort with how the phrase is often used:
- (05:15): “It's not the phrase itself that bothers me...it's the tone that's often expressed through it.”
- Recognizes that grace and forgiveness are needed for mistakes, but warns against using "I'm only human" as an excuse or to shrink from growth.
- (06:30): “The frequency behind ‘I’m only human’ sometimes seems to be used as a way to shrink ourselves. As if being human is a flaw.”
3. The Full Spectrum of the Human Experience
- Being human involves embracing the full range of emotions, learning from failures, and continuously refining oneself.
- (08:50): "To be human is to feel the entire range of existence, to experience the full spectrum...to be joyful, to be devastated, to be angry, to be forgiving..."
4. Self-Reflection & Responsibility
- Highlights the unique human ability to self-reflect, question one’s nature and potential.
- (10:15): “We are the only beings, as far as we know it, who can reflect on our own existence, who can look in the mirror and ask...‘Who am I? Why am I here? What am I capable of?’”
5. Current Events & Behavior Excuses
- Discusses recent online controversies (e.g., Sadia Khan), criticizing responses that justify poor behavior with "that's just who I am."
- (12:40): “What caught my attention—her behavior to the backlash...she was like hurling insults...and said, ‘That's just my nature...That’s just how I’ve always been.’ And that right there is what I find the issue with when we accept and proclaim, 'that's just how I am.'"
- Advocates against normalizing low-vibrational behaviors as inherent or unchangeable.
- (14:00): "Why normalize your lowest behaviors as if it's your standard? This is a disservice to what being human is.”
6. Perspective on Humanity’s Progress
- Offers a cosmic, compassionate view of human development, comparing humanity to “cosmic teenagers:” making mistakes but growing and learning.
- (15:52): "I see humanity as like cosmic teenagers...we're still very young, still awkward, still trying to figure things out."
- Celebrates human progress over the last 150 years—technologically and morally.
- (17:10): “FaceTime to your great, great grandmother...she would have looked at you like you lost your mind. We went from horses to space travel in under two centuries.”
7. Human Potential & Imagination
- Underscores humanity’s capacity for invention, creation, and moral evolution; challenges listeners to embody this spirit in emotional and behavioral growth.
- (19:57): “Every intention, every discovery, every leap forward was born in the mind of someone who refused to believe ‘I'm only human.’”
- Cautions against letting “human nature” be an excuse for stagnation or repeated hurtful behaviors.
8. Evolving Emotional Intelligence
- If technology can advance so rapidly, so can emotional maturity.
- (23:40): “If we can evolve in our technology, why can’t we evolve in our behavior too?”
- Dreams of a future where internet culture matures past hostility and knee-jerk reactions to controversy.
- (25:25): “We are still very primitive with our behavior on the Internet. But I imagine the day when this is not the norm anymore.”
9. Personal Anecdotes on Emotional Growth
- Shares formative experiences where unchecked emotional reactions caused harm—and how, after being called out, Hindz committed to responding with calm and wisdom.
- (29:05): “[She] looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Is this how you respond to conflict? What if we had kids?’...something clicked. Even though a wrong was committed, I could see that my reaction had no pause, no love in it.”
- Notes deliberate modeling of composure and solution-focus to his daughter in real-life stressful situations (e.g., flat tires).
- (38:51): "Anytime my daughter sees me in a stressful situation, I always use it as an opportunity to promote solutions...I always immediately say, 'Man, that's okay...We're in a position to take care of this.'"
10. Reframing Expression and Responsibility
- Critiques culture’s celebration of “crashing out” (explosive, destructive venting)—both among celebrities and regular people.
- (35:20): “You know, like, you'll see, certain celebrities just crash out...People be like, I love Cardi, she's so real. But the truth is, her children have to see that...Is that the cost of being real? No, that's the cost of crashing out and not being able to observe your emotions.”
- Advocates for transforming emotional energy—anger, sadness, frustration—into creative, healing expressions.
- (36:45): “Why would we settle for the lowest form of expression, the quickest reaction, the careless words, the easy punch? When we are capable of turning anger into art, frustration into fuel, sadness into depth, and conflict into connection?”
11. Building a Better Emotional Culture
- Emphasizes the responsibility that comes with human power—technological and emotional.
- (45:05): “Now that we live in a society with so much technology...we have a duty to raise our morality and our emotional intelligence to a level that can respectfully honor that power.”
- Posits that emotions are “our oldest technology,” and must be upgraded, not left primitive.
- (47:22): “I believe emotions are our oldest technology...But just like we upgraded our tools, we must upgrade our relationship with our emotions, too.”
12. Reframing “I’m Only Human” to “I Am Human”
- Encourages listeners to shift from using "I'm only human" as an excuse to "I am human" as an affirmation of potential.
- (50:00): “Being human is not an excuse, it's a declaration. Instead of 'I'm only human,' let it be 'I am human.'”
- (51:00): "You are literally stardust that learned how to think, how to create, how to love, how to dream, how to breathe. And your heartbeat, your presence matters."
Notable Quotes
"The frequency behind ‘I’m only human’ sometimes seems to be used as a way to shrink ourselves. As if being human is a flaw...as if the very thing we are, the very miracle of our own experience, is just an excuse."
(06:30)
"To be human is to feel the entire range of existence, to experience the full spectrum... to be joyful, to be devastated, to be angry, to be forgiving, to be lost and to be fully present."
(08:50)
"Every intention, every discovery, every leap forward was born in the mind of someone who refused to believe ‘I'm only human.’"
(19:57)
"If we can evolve in our technology, why can’t we evolve in our behavior too?"
(23:40)
"You are not allowed to use people as punching bags for your anger... Expression is supposed to be medicine, not poison."
(31:50)
"Because to say I'm only human while refusing to transcend is to deny what being human actually means."
(49:12)
"Being human is not an excuse, it's a declaration. Instead of 'I'm only human,' let it be 'I am human.' And yes, I make mistakes. Yes, I need some grace. Yes, I will fall. Yes, I will have regrets... Not as limitation, but as liberation."
(50:10)
Memorable Moments
- The Bubble Tea Story: Hindz’s daughter being mistaken for his sister—a lighthearted opening emphasizing micro-connections and daily joy. (02:30)
- Personal Conflict Story: Transformative lesson about emotional regulation, after a heated conflict and subsequent self-reflection. (29:05)
- Daughter and Flat Tire: Teaching emotional resilience and composure through modeling solution-oriented behavior. (38:51)
- Family Drama in Jamaica: Demonstrating how cultural tendencies and habits can perpetuate cycles of emotional reaction, and how breaking the pattern brings healthier outcomes. (32:30)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 01:36 — Back in the studio; personal life catch-up
- 05:15 — Unpacking the phrase "I'm only human"
- 10:15 — Reflection on self-awareness and the human condition
- 12:40 — Commentary on online controversies and excusing poor behavior
- 19:57 — Humanity as a creative and evolving force
- 23:40 — Parallels between technological and emotional evolution
- 29:05 — Learning to regulate emotional reactions; personal conflict story
- 35:20 — Critique of destructive emotional venting in culture/celebrity
- 38:51 — Teaching emotional solutions to his daughter
- 45:05 — Raising emotional intelligence to meet technological progress
- 50:00 — Reframing from “I’m only human” to “I am human” and summarizing ethos
Tone & Language
The episode is delivered in Hindz’s signature gentle, reflective, and affirming style, weaving introspection with storytelling. The language is encouraging, conversational, and poetic, aiming to uplift and call listeners to mindful self-accountability and growth.
Concluding Message
To be human is not an excuse for limitation, but an invitation to imagination, responsibility, and conscious evolution. Instead of hiding behind "I'm only human," Hindz urges us to step forward with "I am human," embracing all the depth, power, and possibility that this identity holds.