Tag: self

General, Mindfulness l

Originality compromised?

growingupmatters

Was always I guess,  but is more apparent in today’s age..my kids still enjoy the game Pictureka..for all who aren’t aware, it’s tag line is “find it first, find it fast”..many pictures on a grid and the one who gets to point them out first is a clear winner.Today’s scenario with the barrage of whatsapp and other media feed, mostly over-fed is following this pattern more than ever before..very few are eyeball worthy; most are veneering towards an overdose of ideas and opinions of people, some sure fully baked and ready to consume but most of them half baked! The originality is all but missing from all except the creative brain behind it. Copying is so rampant for many that they sometimes forget that the pool of misinformation and sometimes excitement provided is available to all with a device in their palms. Were they to use their well formed cranium, we would all be blessed with so many more interesting reads and opinions..of course, this feed is there in plenty for consumption for the seekers and they sure have ways of finding them.

My write here is to emphasise the excitement for borrowed excitement! Basically, the mojo of many is to be the first,or at least think they are , in many spheres and really nothing wrong about it ! It is when this so called original and first cascades down only to note that there’s nothing original about it!. All the existing art, culture, thoughts, ideas etc. have been in existence from time immemorial and it’s the way one tweaks them that makes it interesting. There is so much joy to touch, feel and try and miss and retry and the loop going on thereof. The glitches in original creations but demands a gentle eye from many, primarily because of the glitches. With time, one does come to realise that most thought-of original ideas are anything but original. But the take each one takes from it is what makes it wonderfully original. The drive today has become to quickly forward many forwards thinking about it as being the original one to transmit information, willy nilly. The excitement for feeling to be the first of the many firsts is phenomenal! Kids are becoming the major contributors in this. Shuddering to think now with times changing rapidly to more heads ducking down, how much more challenging will it be to get these young ones to sieve and possibly plug out this barrage of the many tempting multitudes!?

The constant desire to be ahead of everyone is, I suppose the driver for all of this. It’s nice to develop a world view to be ahead of others which could be an assimilated coalition of many a reads, many a hearsay, many an eavesdrop , also, at times, many a thoughtful listening, many an engaged conversation. That would be definitely considered original in every which way. Why, even small things like the eating patterns of an individual tweaked to bring about an eye opening originality can be a treat! Endorsing people’s opinion to tune into their inner core emotional state may also prove to be a good learning experience . After all, it’s through experiences and learnings thereof one grows as a person , in form and character as well.Good strive , I guess, to be original in thoughts, opinions and ideas with gentle tweaking and trying and being the ” first among equals” in many a things, if at all..

With so much at stake in the current times, good to note that many of us are trying to bring in small joys and make our life worth living. Just a tad bit reduction in borrowed excitement can bring in more personalised joys and with so much of thinking time available, am sure most of us are treading that path. Own found, own cultivated and own honed with own copyrights would be a wonderful outcome.

General, Mindfulness l, Parenting

Competition

growingupmatters

This word is so commonly heard in almost every stage of our lives,  right when we were kids to progressing to being a student to going on till work life and thereafter manifesting itself in different ways as years add up. The telltale signs are visible each time, sometimes clearly and sometimes in an oblique and obscure manner.  Many interpretations/ misinterpretations are associated with this word and it’s usage is in both, appreciation as well as sounding scornful at different times and in different measures .It’s also how it is projected by one and perceived by the other! Can be healthy as well as cancerous; the way the pendulum swings is rather judgemental, though shouldn’t be ! But it is at many a times!

Competition in reference to kids when they are small is mostly amongst their folks which is gradually layered on to them unconsciously or even intentionally .As they start developing their own minds, I have seen this sense of competition stemming from within. Thats rather healthy, and I like it that way as it’s outdoing and bettering one self ONLY . Here, the only piece of advice given is to deliver your best and up the ante in your and only your eyes. Sometimes, a close associate or even a friend views this in a strong worded  tone reeking of accusation but then it’s only us we have a control on and not the people surrounding us! In not using this word directly but communicating in a subtle manner is what brings out the best in kids. This has to be very carefully handled lest it becomes an issue later on in their lives .Young adults decide for themselves how competitive they wish to be but the seeds have to be sown at an early age, gently and softly, both, in words and in actions.

Adult work life has its own share and take on this and this is different for each soul. What feels like, “he is utterly competitive” for one rings a tune of ” it’s nice to be like that ” for another. It’s only the perceptions that vary and they are rather personal to either of them. Nothing really right or wrong, just how one looks at growing up and growth is what it is all about! It’s also passion to a large extent which makes people competitive in their own eyes as well as the eyes of others. One actually is driven by a passion to either excel/ grow/ outpace or maximise ones potential. It is all good as long as it’s not coming in anyone’s way or disturbing the rhythm of living and life.

Competition with self and known only to self is wonderful and in my mind should be a driver in most areas of our lives from the mundane to the ordinary. Raising  the bar in our own eyes to levels which improve our own self worth and thereby makes us more charged to take on yet another day of our living, not mere existence , is what it is all about!