Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Its a mad race out there..

Everyone wants to be popular. There's no denying this fact!

Some aspire to be the richest businessman in the world. Some try their level best to be the best sportsperson in the sport they are in. Some in art, some in movies. Hell, there are some who wants to have maximum number of followers in Twitter, subscribers in Facebook. Its a mad world out there, and most of the inhabitants are in a race. Some who don't race are left behind trying to carve their own niche. Niche because rest of them are so engrossed in racing that they seldom have time to look behind and appreciate your work! After all, 'numero uno' is not just a number!

But races are more confusing than convincing.

Sometimes you don't know when one race ends and when the other begins. Every individual runs multiple races at different time intervals in their lifespan. He / she will be in the corporate race to be the best. Once the day's work is completed, he / she will then enter a personal race to keep his / her family happy and content - personally, socially and financially. They will be in the race to buy a match ticket, and after completing this race, will compete for the best possible seat in the stands.

Sometimes you don't know whom you are racing against. You are in a race and eventually you win it. Just one question, who all were there in the race? Was there anyone worth defeating, or you just made up a race so that you can win it. Personal satisfaction, maybe. Lets use traveling as an analogy. You drive, overtake vehicles, some vehicles overtake you. You don't know who they are, don't care either. Unless, of course, its a Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW or {enter your favorite car brand}. Most of the time, you just race along. Sometimes you overtake simply to avoid the traffic signal turning yellow and then red. A race without knowing your opponents seems to be a hollow race to me! 

Sometimes you don't know why you are in the race. It happens. Remember the monster.com ad? Caught in the wrong job? The same applies here. Why are you even in the race? And how will it affect you, even if you win it? And this happens not only on the job, but everywhere. You are given a responsibility from a group where you will have to slog and in the end, there's only one thing you are left with - personal satisfaction and no materialistic gains. The old adage - no pain, no gain - has changed. Its now - if there's no gain, then why pain?.

The optimist in you will say, races are important to survive and be competitive. The pessimist in you will say, races destroy the mere essence of living in harmony and appreciating the beauty around. The tactician in you will ask you to select some races and concentrate on winning them.

The aspirations are different, the race tracks are different, the level of competition is different - the underlying rule, however, remains the same. You don't win the silver, you lose the gold! Either you are the best, or you are among the rest.

In conclusion, well.. I'll leave that to the reader's interpretation.

PS: Trying my hand at writing abstract posts. This one doesn't have any conclusion. You are free to interpret your way. I am trying different things now-a-days. Will fail sometimes. No issues. You know how they relate failure to stepping stones, right?

30 comments:

  1. its true - sometimes we really don't know when one ends & the other begins

    now right after reading this abstract, i am back to my races. there really is no escaping it, is there

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    1. And so am I... After publishing this post, I was going through my own races!!

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  2. Decide the start and end for yourself, race againts yourself, and be in it for your own satisfaction and happiness.

    Too cliched and ideal na:-)

    Nicely written. And I agree, I rarely meet someone who is satisfied with his field of work, or knows why he is in this race!

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    1. Me in competition with myself? Thats Ideal!! :)

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  3. I liked it. Writing abstract and poetry is kind of same. You always leave a lot on individual reader. For me I can say I am running on two tracks at a time. Also, I am one person who will rather concentrate on his race than worrying about someone else; like an Olympic runner. He is too concentrated in crossing the finish line that he won't look at someone else. But, I do look at times to see whether I am still on the track or losing it...

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    1. The concept of an Olympic runner is apt Saru!!

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  4. This has actually got me thinking! Totally agree with the car race thing. Happens all the time. Loved the new vision- When there is no gain, then why pain!
    Reminds me of the situation when Boman Irani asks in 3Idiots, who was the first astronaut and everyone answered but noone knew about the second one.

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    1. That's a sad state we are in.. The second is never appreciated and remembered..

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  5. A very thoughtful post Binu. I really liked point 3 where you talk about not knowing as to why we are in the race.
    To precisely quote, "Why are you even in the race? And how will it affect you, even if you win it?"
    The questions are put so aptly.
    Great post Binu.
    Keep it up.

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    1. Actually Aditi, it applied to me a lot.. Sometimes even I don't know why I am running.. and why should I follow what others think as the goal.. why not beyond it!!

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  6. Nice post and really appreciate you trying different. I also tried something different lately...writing poetry and some abstracts also. You really made people think and question themselves, kudos for that.

    May be you can conclude this way, "I didn't wanted to race with anyone neither I was interested, yet I was forced to do so thanks to the society who themselves don't know why they race or put someone else"

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    1. I so wanted to conclude the post Prashanth.. But thought of leaving it to the readers.. :)

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  7. Hello Binu I am new to this post , just happen to whizz past..(No, not racing) when the Name "Bloggers Park" caught me....It was a treat reading you. Please keep up the good work!

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    1. Thanks ma'am for reading and appreciating the post :)

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  8. Sorta confused. Are you advocating being part of the race because we all should try to win gold only? Or are you questioning why we run this race with the rest of mankind?

    Sorry if I've missed out on something...

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    1. I knew there'll be confusion Vishal.. I didn't want to interpret the post my way, I just wanted to convey some basic facts (or what I perceive as facts)..

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  9. Some run to chase their own tail:)

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  10. The aspirations are different, the race tracks are different, the level of competition is different - the underlying rule, however, remains the same. You don't win the silver, you lose the gold! Either you are the best, or you are among the rest.

    This paragraph said it all Binu!

    Thoughtful post indeed!

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  11. Beautifully written Binu, gives a lot of fodder for thought. I think it's time we consciously take a break, stop, pause and ponder... amid all this racing, we have so forgotten to enjoy and relish the life's little joys, pleasures and simplicity..

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    1. Thanks Arti.. I am glad you interpreted it that way :) That's being positive..

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  12. Thanks Ashwini :) The competent person in us wants to win everything.. But the sportperson in us appreciates the effort!!

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  13. This is so good! And true..we are all caught up in this race that we sometimes find ourselves in a maze ..difficult to find ourselves out!! Very true and apt to today's times! And just acknowledging that fact I'm back on my race tracks! ;)

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    1. Thanks Jen!

      PS: Me too going back to the race!

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  14. You might fail, I can't tell. But I can tell you that this wasn't one of those days..

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  15. I've been in all three positions that you've mentioned.

    It's not about coming to a conclusion, really. There are people like me who have felt all of the things you have mentioned at different points in time.

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    1. Thanks Marita! Its not the destination but the journey and the different races in the journey that happens to us!

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All yours..

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