Fear of the Ordinary
Conversations generally end with some good ideas as long as you don't try too hard to have the final say. Two such discussions took place on conditioning of the mind and the life of ordinary folk. There were so many nuances that I had not thought about myself and probably never would have, since listening keeps your ears open and mouth shut. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, we can only talk and express our views on things that we come across everyday; things that we experience without our knowledge that lead to extraordinary learning at a later stage in life.
From a very young age, at least in my experience, we are pushed to be as competitive as possible. Now, let's not have any religious debates on whether the west is better than the east in terms of freedom and flexibility given to kids. It's a vast topic and has occupied some great minds for a long time. I'm talking about simple everyday tasks that we do. A casual game of cricket in your backyard is supposed to be fun, but when there is too much stress to perform and be on top of your game all the time, it becomes something else. The seed of fear of the ordinary is planted in the brain. What is wrong in being average? Are we supposed to excel in every single walk of life? What is wrong in just taking a step back from this fiercely competitive world, eliminate all the white noise and just get on with life? After all, there are so many beautiful details around us which we fail to appreciate in trying to keep pace with all that is taking away the opportunity to attain some tranquility.
The problem with such a mindset is that the 'what's next' question is never answered. There's no doubt that you should always be ambitious, ready to take on the world types, it is essential to understand if we are asking the right kind of questions to ourselves. In so many ways, I think the human mind is wired in a way that we are always looking for the next big thing, the next big break in careers, next big possession etc., Kids are taught to be the next generation billionaires, but rarely do we tell them to wish someone in the morning, smile and care about others. Everyday skills, which are becoming more essential in this self consumed world are more often than not, ignored. We must teach them to be courteous, to be humble, take defeat in the right spirit, cry when a dear one passes away, laugh till they can no longer control their tears of joy. In a bid to aim for the stars, we forget that the joy lies in the journey. One day humans will indeed reach there, but all they'll do is look back at the Earth and appreciate it's beauty.
The root cause of this mindset is now doubt the society in which we're brought up. Constant pressure to achieve something 'bigger and better' is ever present. Get a job, earn well, get a better job, earn better, buy a car, aim for a bigger one, the list just goes on. My question is, where do we draw the line? One one hand, our minds are conditioned to constantly ask ourselves if this is the best we can do; whatever it is that we're doing and on the other, somewhere in the corner of it, the mind just wants to take a break, face things as they come and get along with the everyday challenges of life. Have you decided yet? Leave your thoughts below. They are much appreciated.
From a very young age, at least in my experience, we are pushed to be as competitive as possible. Now, let's not have any religious debates on whether the west is better than the east in terms of freedom and flexibility given to kids. It's a vast topic and has occupied some great minds for a long time. I'm talking about simple everyday tasks that we do. A casual game of cricket in your backyard is supposed to be fun, but when there is too much stress to perform and be on top of your game all the time, it becomes something else. The seed of fear of the ordinary is planted in the brain. What is wrong in being average? Are we supposed to excel in every single walk of life? What is wrong in just taking a step back from this fiercely competitive world, eliminate all the white noise and just get on with life? After all, there are so many beautiful details around us which we fail to appreciate in trying to keep pace with all that is taking away the opportunity to attain some tranquility.
The problem with such a mindset is that the 'what's next' question is never answered. There's no doubt that you should always be ambitious, ready to take on the world types, it is essential to understand if we are asking the right kind of questions to ourselves. In so many ways, I think the human mind is wired in a way that we are always looking for the next big thing, the next big break in careers, next big possession etc., Kids are taught to be the next generation billionaires, but rarely do we tell them to wish someone in the morning, smile and care about others. Everyday skills, which are becoming more essential in this self consumed world are more often than not, ignored. We must teach them to be courteous, to be humble, take defeat in the right spirit, cry when a dear one passes away, laugh till they can no longer control their tears of joy. In a bid to aim for the stars, we forget that the joy lies in the journey. One day humans will indeed reach there, but all they'll do is look back at the Earth and appreciate it's beauty.
The root cause of this mindset is now doubt the society in which we're brought up. Constant pressure to achieve something 'bigger and better' is ever present. Get a job, earn well, get a better job, earn better, buy a car, aim for a bigger one, the list just goes on. My question is, where do we draw the line? One one hand, our minds are conditioned to constantly ask ourselves if this is the best we can do; whatever it is that we're doing and on the other, somewhere in the corner of it, the mind just wants to take a break, face things as they come and get along with the everyday challenges of life. Have you decided yet? Leave your thoughts below. They are much appreciated.
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