What do you do?
“I am studying mechanical at IIT Bombay. Also working with this startup side by side”.
Who are you?
“I am XYZ. I work at McKinsey.”
And who are you?
“I am ABC. I studied BMS. Now I am doing a marketing job.”
How much do any of these answers tell you about the persons? A lot right? You have been able to put
them into a stereotype, haven’t you?
XYZ goes home and plays with his kids every day. He didn’t tell me that. ABC writes small poems on his
phone on his way to home in Mumbai local. He’ll never tell me about that. It is more important for him
to impress me with his big credentials. He will sweep aside the most human and beautiful aspects of his
life to achieve that.
But isn’t there much more to every human being? Is our education background and professional
association the only way to define our identity? Why do we have to complicate the introduction to
our existence with “socially accepted” entities and seek for approval? Why are we limiting ourselves
to the miniscule aspects of our being? This being human – having the most sophisticated machine at
our disposal – why do we fail to explore it to its full potential and limit ours and others perception of
ourselves with social pigeon holes? Why this mad rat race to fit into a good stereotype, that the society
accepts and values?
Are we assuming the people we are introducing ourselves to are dumb? Not intelligent enough to
understand who I really am? Or is it my immediate need to seek social approval that prevents us from
introducing ourselves as a human being and show the full spectrum of our real being?
Next time you meet a person you really want to connect with, can you tell them about your most
beautiful passion, and not about the work you don’t like to do?
Why fit yourself into a stereotype right at the beginning of an interaction? Why fit yourself into a small
frame when the entire canvas is for you to explore?
Written by Pallavi Pareek
Great read!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful thoughts.
:D
Good read. :)
ReplyDeleteIts good to mention your work if that is what really defines you – like when I introduce myself I often talk about my vision which is directly connected with the work I do.
ReplyDeleteI travelled to Scotland once, and stayed at this lady’s home in a very remote harbour of Scotland. When I first met her, she introduced herself to me as a farmer. I met her friend later, he introduced himself to me as an explosive expert. Much later I heard the farmer has been an archeologist in Europe before she came back to take over her dad’s farm. Her friend was the clan chief of the Mackenzie, and that guy lived in a castle. They never felt any compulsion to mention these facts in our conversations.
That was a beautiful, thought-provoking write-up, Pallavi :) Would love to read more by you!
ReplyDeleteThat's extremely beautiful and thought-provoking piece, Pallavi. Would love to read more by you :)
ReplyDelete