I just watched a movie called The Jane Austen Club. A sweet film that revolves around five women and a man, who come together to start a book club. Starting with Emma and ending with Persuasion, somewhere in-between all these books, their real life stories mirror those of Austen's characters - each lost or found in love – and by the time the club turns the last page of book six, each finds love and meaning in their life.
I found the plot enchanting. Not just the thought of Jane Austen being celebrated, but the idea of a group of people sharing their life through a common purpose was fascinating. Makes me think of the things we come together for nowadays. A drink after work, birthdays and more drinking, vacations and drinking and lounging. A lot of drinking I guess.
We're each masters of our workplace, committed professionals who do so much, and then some more when it comes to pursuing individual hobbies. But coming together, as a group, is a chore. Who's going to keep the momentum going, who's going to ensure everyone is there, who's going to take the responsibility for someone else's interest? So we live within our silos and let in a few now and then and discuss the world and politics and weather and say goodbye till you meet again.
What if each of us got together our friends and some strangers and created a bunch of clubs? Of whatever we are interested in as a group. Batman Society, Horror Film Lovers, Plastic Bag Police, Horses & Dogs Club, Philip K Dick fans, Solar Power Supporters, Mumbai Action Group; and met once a week or once a month. What would it do to our lives? To the quality of our conversations, to our country as a whole when we each participate and create a culture of exploring, sharing and revelling in common goals.
There are several clubs and associations that do exist today. Caferati, a literary club, being one of them. An interesting bunch of people, committed, consistent and creators of something bigger than themselves. I'm sure every member of Caferati has found immense joy in being part of it. I did, even though I attended only one read-meet and that too as a spectator. We need more such reasons to meet and interact and create forces of action and positivity in our lives.
The energy and creativity of a group of people can be surprising and inspiring. And the results of teamwork are proven to outdo that of individual effort. Quit India, Swadeshi, Non-cooperation were all group movements, where people came together for a common cause.
My friends just got back from Colaba. They were raving about the march at the Gateway of India, and said it was a great experience. There were thousands gathered there to share solutions for Mumbai and the energy was infectious. This was one day, one meet. Imagine if this was part of our lives and we came together, every once in a while, to celebrate the people we are, the nation belong to, the world we live in. Gravity would not be the only thing that kept us together then.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Everyday Musings > Work. Work. Work.
I'm surrounded by workaholics. H is wedded to his cell phone, R to his con calls, N to his desk, M to her home and D to his laptop. Even after work's done, they're constantly thinking of work. And are never quite there in the conversation. But if I ever confront them about it, they tell me there's no way out. When there's work, there's work. But I worry because there always seems to be work.
Who really is a workaholic? I googled to find out. One self test suggests that one must observe one's behaviour outside of work to figure it out. Do you start a lot of work related conversations with other people? Do you constantly speak of the poor performance of your co-workers or boss? Do you have problems sleeping well because you're always thinking of work related things? Do you find yourself driving by your workplace during off hours or weekends? If you said yes to one or more, you're a workaholic or getting there really fast.
But there is a difference between a workaholic and a motivated person. A motivated worker loves his work but also loves his life, so post work enjoys without thinking about work. A workaholic finds his/her identity in his/her job and never lets go the workplace unless to take a long break from it. Work is always on his/her mind and he/she has difficulty dividing work life from home life.
In Japan, workaholism is considered a serious social problem leading to early death, often on the job and even has a phenomenon named after it - karÅshi. The fatal stroke suffered by Prime Minister of Japan Keizo Obuchi was blamed on overwork.
Gayle Porter, associate professor at Rutgers, says that most workaholics are either perfectionists or have a need for control or both. But it could also be an escape, from relationships and commitments, with work often stated as the excuse to avoid issues in life. And although they're known as perfectionists, it's not that they accomplish more than people who work fewer hours. Sometimes workaholics get so fixated with details that they find it hard to move onto the next task and are often inefficient.
Porter adds that 'If the workaholic is a manager, he/she may expect long hours from subordinates, may force them to try to meet impossible standards, then rush in to save the day when the work is deemed substandard. The person may look like a hero, coming in to solve crisis after crisis, when in fact the crises could have been avoided. Sometimes, the workaholic may have unwittingly created the problems to provide the endless thrill of more work'.
When I look around me, I see so many who fit this description, happy go lucky friends who've turned work horses and often feel guilty for not having done enough in a day. Work seems to become an anchor, a way to judge how life is going. Like R says, if you put in effort into your work, you'll get great results, but you never know if efforts will yield anything in a relationship. So the more you work, the more your return on investment.
That worries me. Workaholism may work for most people I know. But somehow the logic doesn't work for me.
Who really is a workaholic? I googled to find out. One self test suggests that one must observe one's behaviour outside of work to figure it out. Do you start a lot of work related conversations with other people? Do you constantly speak of the poor performance of your co-workers or boss? Do you have problems sleeping well because you're always thinking of work related things? Do you find yourself driving by your workplace during off hours or weekends? If you said yes to one or more, you're a workaholic or getting there really fast.
But there is a difference between a workaholic and a motivated person. A motivated worker loves his work but also loves his life, so post work enjoys without thinking about work. A workaholic finds his/her identity in his/her job and never lets go the workplace unless to take a long break from it. Work is always on his/her mind and he/she has difficulty dividing work life from home life.
In Japan, workaholism is considered a serious social problem leading to early death, often on the job and even has a phenomenon named after it - karÅshi. The fatal stroke suffered by Prime Minister of Japan Keizo Obuchi was blamed on overwork.
Gayle Porter, associate professor at Rutgers, says that most workaholics are either perfectionists or have a need for control or both. But it could also be an escape, from relationships and commitments, with work often stated as the excuse to avoid issues in life. And although they're known as perfectionists, it's not that they accomplish more than people who work fewer hours. Sometimes workaholics get so fixated with details that they find it hard to move onto the next task and are often inefficient.
Porter adds that 'If the workaholic is a manager, he/she may expect long hours from subordinates, may force them to try to meet impossible standards, then rush in to save the day when the work is deemed substandard. The person may look like a hero, coming in to solve crisis after crisis, when in fact the crises could have been avoided. Sometimes, the workaholic may have unwittingly created the problems to provide the endless thrill of more work'.
When I look around me, I see so many who fit this description, happy go lucky friends who've turned work horses and often feel guilty for not having done enough in a day. Work seems to become an anchor, a way to judge how life is going. Like R says, if you put in effort into your work, you'll get great results, but you never know if efforts will yield anything in a relationship. So the more you work, the more your return on investment.
That worries me. Workaholism may work for most people I know. But somehow the logic doesn't work for me.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Everyday Musings > Bouncing Back
I was unwell the past week, especially so in the last two days. The doctor said I had low BP, an eye infection and a possible migraine among other things. Bogged down by this and then later by the terrorist attacks, I didn't schedule my weekly team meeting or attend my weekly seminar today. Far from expressing anger or irritation, I was touched by the heartfelt messages I received from my teammates and workmates. They sent me words full of love and concern. And willed me to bounce back faster than I would have done on my own.
We would have done that for most or all of our friends. Stood by them in a tragedy and willed them to bounce back, to be productive with their life and move on having learnt something from the adversity. Why then aren't we doing that to our beloved Mumbai? On Twitter, facebook, newspapers, television, I see personalities and citizens promising furiously not to forget, not to forgive, to let the wounds fester. Why? Just so we can prove to our politicians that they are wrong. Like children who decide to never achieve anything significant because they're angry with their parents and want to blame them for making losers out of them. But in the end it is the child who loses out.
Sunday at the Landmark workshop, they shared what some of them were doing post the attack. They were working on changing the way the world listened to India and Mumbai after the terrorist attacks. By simply altering the language the world was hearing. Instead of empty words of anger like 'This country is full of imbecile politicians' or 'Every Indian should get military training' they decided to speak of progress and action - 'Yes, the incident happened, but we're back on our feet and back to business.' 'We're committed to fighting terrorism and live our lives as best as we can'.
It might sound like a small thing, but if we really heard this everyday and saw this every day, we'd have hope and spirit floating around us, and actually be able to think clearly and take action, not provide reaction.
I love watching Tom and Jerry. And although child psychologists have a different view on it, I love watching how both of them bounce back from any assault. Beaten to a pulp one minute and back in shape and chasing the next. That's spirit, that's being constantly in action. If Tom stopped one day and started furiously shouting at Jerry and doing nothing else, it would be a boring rant. Somewhat where we're heading.
Right now there are a lot of good intentions floating about shrouded in anger. If the shroud slips out, what remains is a heartfelt desire to do something. In the beginning we will not see a way, but as long as we take a stand, we will always find a way to get there. So let go of the anger you're holding onto and free your hands to take action. For till you are bound by your fury, the siege is still on.
We would have done that for most or all of our friends. Stood by them in a tragedy and willed them to bounce back, to be productive with their life and move on having learnt something from the adversity. Why then aren't we doing that to our beloved Mumbai? On Twitter, facebook, newspapers, television, I see personalities and citizens promising furiously not to forget, not to forgive, to let the wounds fester. Why? Just so we can prove to our politicians that they are wrong. Like children who decide to never achieve anything significant because they're angry with their parents and want to blame them for making losers out of them. But in the end it is the child who loses out.
Sunday at the Landmark workshop, they shared what some of them were doing post the attack. They were working on changing the way the world listened to India and Mumbai after the terrorist attacks. By simply altering the language the world was hearing. Instead of empty words of anger like 'This country is full of imbecile politicians' or 'Every Indian should get military training' they decided to speak of progress and action - 'Yes, the incident happened, but we're back on our feet and back to business.' 'We're committed to fighting terrorism and live our lives as best as we can'.
It might sound like a small thing, but if we really heard this everyday and saw this every day, we'd have hope and spirit floating around us, and actually be able to think clearly and take action, not provide reaction.
I love watching Tom and Jerry. And although child psychologists have a different view on it, I love watching how both of them bounce back from any assault. Beaten to a pulp one minute and back in shape and chasing the next. That's spirit, that's being constantly in action. If Tom stopped one day and started furiously shouting at Jerry and doing nothing else, it would be a boring rant. Somewhat where we're heading.
Right now there are a lot of good intentions floating about shrouded in anger. If the shroud slips out, what remains is a heartfelt desire to do something. In the beginning we will not see a way, but as long as we take a stand, we will always find a way to get there. So let go of the anger you're holding onto and free your hands to take action. For till you are bound by your fury, the siege is still on.
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