While watching yesterday’s news, this very small news line flashed across the screen for a few seconds. I went through the whole news on the web and I was shocked to find that he had lost his mental balance after losing his job as an IT professional. He had become a loner homeless after losing his job. It set me thinking how much a job could matter to a person. What sort of people are we raising these days? No doubt people these days have vast amount of knowledge(read information), high paying jobs and a glamorous life. But what beyond that? What about moral values, family values, perseverance, tolerance and contentment? Can't we raise people who feel safe and secure with the thought of a family? Why did this person not feel safe and confident enough to go back to the family in times of distress?
Since I too am from the IT background I can very well understand the amount of stress this job involves. But this stress mostly leads to an unhealthy competition and extravagant ambitions. More than our own capabilities we are concerned about what ‘others’ are not so good at. More than what promotions and ‘hikes’ WE get, we are concerned about how much other person has got. Those great values of working hard and being content with what we are getting have long been lost. We get stressed with others’ achievements. It is always about others and never about us. Also, I used to see that come appraisal time and people are bothered about how others are being appraised and focussing less on our own shortcomings.
Not only in IT but in this whole mad world things are moving in this direction. Who has the latest mobiles and gadgets, who's spending more on lavishness, even if it is not required as an individual for the self , everything turns out to be a mad race. I for one as a housewife don’t need a mobile for more than making and receiving calls and maximum to set a wake-up alarm. But I have seen housewives going mad for the latest ‘Iphone’. And when we ourselves, as parents, are not content with our fate and running madly after materialism I don’t think our children are ever going to get even a glimpse of contentment. I strongly believe that happiness can come from only contentment. Being content does not mean that we stop striving for betterment. Man cannot progress without challenges and higher goals, but we have to be very careful whence it takes a toll on our lives too.
4 comments:
You know recently in my project same thing happened, a person because of stress lost mental balance. As I know of the circumstances first hand, I can analyze the situation........the re were multiple factors in play:
1) He was a loner (unmarried, living in US for past 6 years and had not been home for the past 4 years)
2) He was not professionally competent (in skills) to handle the position where he was in
3) Every body could sense the crises and resolution given was to put a manager on top of him
4) He need help, but instead he got somebody who would point more fingers and make it public
5) He could not take the pressure and lost his mental balance
Now in this case I feel it is the organization or supervisor to blame....as they did not treat the root cause of the problem but just tried to treat the symptom.
I have seen teaching something good is a very difficult thing to do....I strongly agree what you have said that one should learn contentment....but how? If I want my child to be ambitious, fighter, challenger.......then contentment is not his word....all I can do is teach him to analyze between right and wrong....again their definition change.....
I agree we have to raise up fighters and challengers. But if I want my son to be a fighter I have to teach him to fight his shortcomings and failures too. If he tries to practice escapism then it means, I am lacking in some type of parenting. Contentment does not mean that surrender and sit down. With it come a lots of things like self dignity and perseverance.
The case that you wrote about is a perfect example of that. It is the duty of the society to nurture not only the so-called "successful" people but also other normal people too.
You are right that teaching between right and wrong is what we can do. And if we are able to do this successfully, I think all other things will automatically follow.I feel definitions of right and wrong don't change. Some people only elaborate it while others don't.
I think self-confidence is one very important thing we need to inculcate in our children. This will make them secure and will give them wisdom to to be content....when needed.
Let me add my two bits to all that thought. I think we need to teach people to prioritize things in their life and strong principles and trong sense of self to help with that prioritization. For instance, if i know I am a family person, I know that if I push for a job with longer hours and better pay, it will damage my personal life beyond my managing capacity..so I prioritize and go for a job with better hours and lesser salary. Knowing when to stop necessarily doesn't mean giving up, does it?
Also, personally speaking, as I was told numerous times by my folks, life will kick you hard every other day, shake up and get back on it. A job is just a job. The biggest job is living itself.
However, I believe in this high stress world, it will be good if conselors were made available to employees.
Post a Comment