Monday, July 16, 2012

Why so Linear?

Is it me or is everything we do so linear?

Wait, let's start from a point of view you can understand- do you have a CV or resume?

What comes first in that CV?

I reckon you have education, your work experience and the like all in a chronological manner - from the time you were beyond primary school into high school and beyond. But, hey- good news is, it is not your fault. In fact it is no one's fault- eh?

So, let's throw a party and forget all that. Wait, hang on a second...why do make life so linear?

Why must we define events in our lives using a start time and end time? And why are we so keen to give a 'rational' definition for every occurrence in our lives? And this is so obvious given that with this post I have started from somewhere hoping that I too will come to a conclusion of sorts. But, I've often been told that I am good at going round in circles. I rarely give a definite answer and let's be honest, if I have at any point in time given a definite answer it's either I was mentally exhausted and wanted to be left alone or the person I was talking to didn't seem to be much of an enigma. I like mysterious people.  I do not really fancy the line 'what you see is what you get' because I believe everyone is beyond appearances, so now you know.
And now, somehow am back to what I was saying- we have been brought up in a society that values Chronology.

Everything has to be accounted for- especially in written form. It reminds me of something I learnt from my Mentors on campus 'if it ain't written, it never happened.' And that often got me jotting down minutes and making sure that everything was accounted for- thus successful events and the works. I am grateful for that lesson.
But back to business. What do I mean by linear?

Since we live in a society- people have high expectations of us- and these are often in a linear form. You graduate from high school, go to college, then you graduate- you get a job and start a family, support your folks and live happily ever after. So, if you fail to follow this course- you are either a mess or a plague. But, history shows that there are those who broke these because of what they loved, they were so much so in their element that they had no time to follow what the world ordained for them, but what their gut and instincts told them to. Did I mention people like Sir Richard Branson, Oprah, Zuckerberg, Tyra....and well, those people who have made it to some wonder book or success and the Forbes list. So,was it tough for them? It was. But they still followed their course.

You know what--- the world will always expect a bucket load from you.
It was always demand that you conform because it is made up of people who expect you to do what they cannot and while you are at it, they do everything in their power to make you feel bad, question is are you going to follow the line or break the rules that stop you from actually living your life?

2 comments:

  1. Yeah... I'm at a point in my life where these questions nag all day. Linear conformism is like the default. My every fibre of being resists the idea; it looks like jail to me.

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  2. It's a prison that has many inmates, I sent an employer my resume starting from my 'experience' and the HR asked me why I wrote my resume wrong- I was like, the job asked for my experience and so I didn't see the need for stating my education and age first. She told me they already found the best candidate.

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