One of my favourite Calvin and Hobbes comic strips is this one where Calvin, pretending to be his father, tells him to "Go do something you hate. Being miserable builds character."
I called up my dear friend Maarlee to share the joke. To my surprise, he smiled politely when I expected him to guffaw. I waited, perplexed, so he spoke. "Being miserable does build character," he said. It's not a joke then.
Thinking about this after the event, I found myself agreeing with Maarlee. If I look back at all the events in life that have made me the person I am, most of them were trying circumstances.
A large part of the respect accorded to people who have been through the rigour of the IITs and IIMs is perhaps a result of this truth. We tend to think of the people who make it to the IITs as intelligent. Think a little deeper though, and there might be more to it than intelligence. Most of them have had to give up all social life for the two years preceding their admit. If you have met any of them during that phase in life, you would have noticed how stressed out most of them seem to be.
One of the most trying times in my life was the first year at B-School. I was working between 16 and 18 hours a day and to compound matters, I was trying to compete with people who outclassed me so comprehensively as to make the effort seem hopeless.
The fact that top rung consulting companies and investment banks go hunting at these elite institutions might have more to do with the traits of tenacity, resolve and perseverance in the face of adversity than with intelligence.
Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go watch the India Pakistan match to practice being stressed.
2 comments:
As everybody else watches the India Pak Match, let me do more profound things like disagreeing with this premise.
There are several perpetually Miserable characters and then there are those that build character by wadding through miserable situations without becoming sourfaces. Both these are exceptions to the rule you have put forth. Now, I too shall return and join the billion plus in experiencing an emotional roller coaster.
Even beyond character building, true joy comes only when one has bested the elements and the people to achieve something that one knows is right. In fact, I feel that that is the core of happiness at work too - high growth and difficult challenges.
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