The power to upset

We all evolve with age. Not just physically, scientifically and biologically, but also emotionally. I realized how much I had changed over the course of the past 3-4 years. It has been a journey fraught with experiences of different kinds. All these experiences have helped me evolve. Sometimes, I wish I had been a certain way and not changed, for I was happier then. But then, the change is inevitable. You are bound to change. So does everyone else. The people who realize this fact tend to live happier. 

Another question popped up in my mind. Why do I get upset? Why do people get upset? I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time, until recently, when a possible answer struck me. I read an interview of a famous actress in a newspaper and there she had talked about the power to upset. When I read the interview, the idea struck. The lady had mentioned how only 3-4 people in her life had the power to upset her. I thought about it. It made absolute sense. 

You get upset only by the actions of a few people. Only these people can upset you by their thought, word or deed. Think about it! It’s true. You get upset only because of a person. It means that you’ve given that person an invisible, intangible power - the power to upset you. If he/she uses that power against you, it is likely to upset you. Now the question arises as to how many people have been handed over that power, by you, ofcourse. The smaller the number, the happier you are. There are individuals who may have handed this power to a large no. of people. You’ll find them dissatisfied and upset over a lot of things. On the contrary, people who have given this power to a small no. of people, find themselves getting upset rarely. 

Make no mistake about it. Less people with the power to upset you doesn’t mean less friends or relatives or acquaintances. You can still have them all in good number. But are you going to give them all the power to upset you? Ask yourselves this question and you’ll discover so many things. So be judicious in your choice. Your parents can have that power. Your siblings can and your close friends can. But does your boss need to have that power? Getting scoldings from the boss is almost a certainty. So, are you going to give him/her the power to upset you? This is what I meant by being judicious in your choice.

Think about it. It’ll make sense. It made sense to me. I realized that I had given that power to a lot of people over the past 2 years. But now that I’ve realized that, I’ve consciously reduced the no. of people who had that power. The result is very evident, as I find myself much happier. 

I wish you do the same too. Here’s to a happier you with lesser people with the power to upset you!

Hasta la vista!

PS: Thank you, Anushka Sharma! You gave me the idea for this post.  :-)

Watch what you write online!

The reason for my existence has been called into question. By my own self. My purpose was different. I came into this world as an extension. Of my own famous self. I wanted to write about things that I wanted to, but couldn’t without courting a controversy or two. But of late, I realized how much I have deviated from my own purpose. So much so that not only had I become dormant, but I had allowed my twitter self to wag his tongue. And me being me, a controversy was about to happen. And it did. I almost lost a friend because of some tweets. It was an honest, inadvertent mistake on my part. But nevertheless, I had given way to suspicion. Now revisiting that particular episode, I am amused as to how remarkably certain things connect and how valid is the suspicion. The problem with our digital age is that you’re connected to so many people at a time that it becomes sorta impossible to keep track of things. You fight with friend 1 and argue with friend 2. Then you sit back in your free time and let your thoughts wander. Suddenly you get a brainwave. You have the idea to the next chapter of your story ready. You are excited. You dunno what to do. You want to retain it before it escapes your mind. You immediately find your phone and tweet about it. But the thing is that you can’t make it obvious. So you keep it cryptic. Little do you realize that your cryptic tweet might have some relevance to fight with friend 1 or your argument with friend 2. Both of them read your tweets and get upset. They confront you. You had no idea that your tweets could be connected to them or what happened with either of them. You are confused. Then you figure out what has happened. You explain it to them and try to patch things up with them. Sometimes, they understand you. Sometimes, they don’t believe you. You end up losing a friend over a silly tweet that you had no idea, could lead to such implications. This is more or less what happened to me. Except in my case, there was no fight and there was only one friend. Thankfully, that friend was kind enough to understand. Still, my carelessness cost me a valuable follower on twitter.

The point I am trying to make with the whole story is exactly what the title is. In this age of internet and digital explosion, it is very important to be careful with what you write online. More often than not, what you intended to convey and what was inferred might be different. That’s a dangerous situation to be. It shudders me to think what all could be the implications of a single silly tweet. Read this news article to understand the power of a tweet and what it can do to you, irrespective of who you are. Since that incident, I triple check every single sentence I write online. This is important unless you are ready to court any controversy or face any wrath, whatsoever it may be. Actually, that’s a good position to be. That’s how a free-thinking writer should be. That’s what I aspire to be. But I am not that. Atleast yet. So until that happens, I need to remind myself of this title. So do you, unless you’re already that ready-to-face-the-wrath kind. 

Hasta la Vista!