Thursday, June 23, 2011

Why do we do the things we do?


On our way back from office me and Ovais were discussing...

Why do we do the things we do?
Or For that matter....
Why does any one does what he does?

So the Initial answers were like for Survival..for food..for a better life etc etc.
Then we discussed a bit more deeply and came to the following result...

Each one of us enjoys being different.

Earlier people used to stay in villages and do farming..feed cattle..raise children.
Everyone did the same thing.
At that time if someone got a job in the city...he was considered kind of special.
Now the guy who got a job did something different from what his brothers were doing
and this way he got himself to be felt special.

Now this trend continued and almost all the families now had a child in the city doing a job.
This continued for few decades ...then a person got bored of that lifestyle also.

Everyone is in city doing the same damn coding job .So he decided to pack his bags and go back to the village.
Now this person did something different and was considered special by his brethren.
People staying in the cities...now felt like they should also lead a life style like that.

So in this discussion we found out that we always look to do something different and ....
more the uniqueness of that thing,
the more we enjoy doing it.

A person always looks to have some uniqueness about him...which sets him apart from the people
he knows or has some connection with them.

Now a person can look different with two different mindsets..

We'll take an example
A Person may leave his comfortable car and become a cyclist because of two reasons...
1)Reason one is there are a very few cyclists around and a lot of car owners...being a cyclist will set him apart.
2)Second reason is curiosity...he would want to challenge his comfort zone and see how his body reacts on a cycle?

In the first reason if all the people around him start riding a cycle the person may opt for a car.
Because the point is not enjoying the cycle..but the point is being different.

In the second reason the person won't give a thought to what the people in his closest promoxity are driving...
He'll ride a cyle just for the sake of riding it.

In both cases you look different....just that in one you are indifferent.

At this point of discussion i immediately started relating things with myself...and the people around me...
A few questions that came to my mind...

Would i keep on enjoying playing Flute if i don't put those videos on facebook?
The very fact that i put them on facebook is that i want people to notice that i am different and see how well i can play the Flute.

I want people to appreciate the videos..what if nobody likes them?  Will i stop playing ?...

Am i different out of curiosity or out of a need to look different.
If a lot of people learn flute...will i try and learn a new instrument?
 or...
Will i learn a new instrument when i feel that ...Flute is done now and what next?

I was confused and i am still confused as to why do i do the things that i do.

Infact why did i write this blog....

I wrote this blog out of curiosty and by the sheer enthusiasm and the excitement of the thought that came to my mind...
but the very point that i am going to share it on my blogspot right now ..and hoping for a few likes.....feeds my apetite .....

...as i think i have thought something different that people in my closest reference haven't thought of.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting Observation. I think the answer lies in a quote from the movie revolver -
"There is something about yourself that you don't know. Something that you will deny even exists, until it's too late to do anything about it. It's the only reason you get up in the morning. The only reason you suffer the shitty boss, the blood, the sweat and the tears. This is because you want people to know how good, attractive, generous, funny, wild and clever you really are. Fear or revere me, but please, think I'm special. We share an addiction. We're approval junkies. We're all in it for the slap on the back and the gold watch. The hip-hip-hoo-fuckin' rah. Look at the clever boy with the badge, polishing his trophy. Shine on you crazy diamond, because we're just monkeys wrapped in suits, begging for the approval of others."
Excuse the cuss words but they have been picked verbatim from the movie. Why do we blog our thoughts out? It is because we want people to know we too can think (differently maybe). Everything we do, we do it for getting noticed. In FB lingo, it can be called 'likes and comments'.
Its when we lose our urge to get noticed, our desire to always win, our hunger for adulation that we truly see the futility of our endeavours.
And as Steve jobs famously said "It Is OK to be a loser if uou are passionate about it" (OK I made that one up)

Vivek Shah said...

@Gaurav - In all cases it is a combination of both, how long you sustain something is driven by which is the greater contributing factor (uniqueness/passion).

On an aside, the human mind is just not capable of accepting that it is just another thing without any ulterior motive which is mostly the answer to all questions.

Anonymous said...

A lot is similar to what I think, and maybe its more of "male" character. I am not sure if "female" character, in general, also has a similar mindset. I would not agree in that case to what you described on "Why do we do the things we do?".

Vishal said...

The funny part is that everyone thinks that he or she is different and has something unique in them but actually you can say probably because of that only we all are same :D. Also, main to blog pe isliye bhi kheencha chala aata hoon kyun ki teri profile pic mein back side pe mere dad hain :)

Sanchit421 said...

hmm...i think only when we do something to whet our inner appetite we find contentment...otherwise its fleeting and futile..

Manoj said...

Nice observation bhai.. However if I see closely you have tried to relate most of these things to yourself..But the point at the end where you accepted that you learn't flute because you wanted to be different from other people wouldn't take you too far then.. Only if you are passionate and really want to do it, would make you good at it. Most of us are doing many things which are similar but I believe excellence and innovation is what we strive for .. :)

Anonymous said...

Do you write a poem because someone will read n' appreciate?
NO! NEVER!!

The appreciation is ALWAYS a byproduct .. the product is the satisfaction, the proximity with the divine that you feel when you write those words and shape them into a poem ..

Same goes with flute .. I believe you play it because you love to .. simple .. nothing to do with Facebook n' all ..

Nice piece of writing yet again!