Homo Sapiens – The entire species is as much a human being as it tries being human. Everyone has the same flaws, same mindset, same character. Only difference arises in being able to modulate each to its own level and preference.
Character and Reputation. Probably the two most important words around which a person revolves his whole life about. While some worry about perception of their reputation, the fewer of the lot focus on a strong character – the true inner self. And this is exactly where most of us get our choices wrong.
Reputation is what others perceive about us. Character, is who we genuinely are. Though character is what we truly control and the reins to our reputation lie in the hands of others, many lose a night’s sleep over it. Common human tendency I’d say – go berserk over things you can’t control while do nothing about things you actually can.
More heads lose their cool thinking about an Ind-Pak cricket match outcome than the results of their University Exams.
This is where we get our preferences wrong and our choices off-target. In the end, as usual, we blame the circumstances for our incompetency to do the right thing. We worry so much about what others think that we forget to live a life of our own.
This juggling between Character and Reputation, I see a lot nowadays, especially within the Student and the Startup Community. In order to be quickly perceived as the best, many sort of sell their soul to the devil in return for an impeccable reputation. What follows is a bridge made of Lego blocks that comes crashing down.
You don’t need to be a middle-aged guy or a philosopher to understand and make the right choice. As mentioned before, being human, teaches us all the basic skills involuntarily. We just need to decide if we want to follow it or not.
There was a time I used to worry a lot about my reputation. Couple of falls and bruises later, now, I don’t give a f*** about it. I no longer get entangled in its maze of deceit.
As Charlotte Bronte mentioned in Jane Eyre –
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”
– Vijay S Paul
