Quote of the day

Quotes, sayings and idioms are nice..most of the time. They guide and inspire us to do the right thing. But at times, in real life, basing important things on what a great man once said might not be the smartest thing to do. Gandhiji's ideology of offering the other cheek after being slapped on one can prove fatal in this day of knife/pistol wielding muggers and local bhais (Assuming that in real life, munnabhais are not really amusing!). For times like these we might be better off being cynical about what great men said. To drive home this point, I'll quote what a great man once said [sic]
It is unwise to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same - George Bernard Shaw

The logic about logic

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion - Dale Carnegie


There's a whole lot to understand and learn from Dale Carnegie's thought. On the face of it, it is a simple thought, effectively put. But the more I pondered about it, I began to feel that understanding this thought fully well and keeping it on the top of my mind always could work as a panacea! With the exception of those in captivity or leading lives of seclusion, one can't escape dealing with people in almost anything. And then at some point or the other even the most logical person is going to be driven by emotion.

At work and with things where most people would consciously try and keep emotion out of the picture I tend to be down right practical and logical. I think dealing with logical people makes things a lot easier and progress speedy.

The other day I met an elderly gentleman and my first impression was that I was dealing with a logical person. I got into my comfort zone of being open and direct and made no attempt to be diplomatic or sugar coat my thoughts. He asked me for feedback on something he had created and I articulated the pluses and the minuses. The minute my thoughts turned into words I realized the otherwise calm and composed septuagenarian was not prepared for negative feedback. His reaction almost felt like a slap across my face. He shouted at me for the difference of opinion. It was something I couldn't comprehend. If it was something he was so sensitive about, why did he ask for feedback in the first place. I managed to get out of the situation without creating a scene just by continuously telling myself (while he was shouting at me) that I was dealing with a creature of emotion.

Bottom line, you can't take all the emotion out of any situation. What seems completely logical to me pulls some emotional chords for the person in front of me and vice versa. When the emotional wave is high, the trick is in shielding yourself from the emotional wave and accepting that to your listener the logic is illogical!