Most of the time, when it comes to making important
decisions or making policies and rules or threading philosophies, only the
elder people are looked upon. When seeking knowledge and advice, it is
considered wise to approach an elder person. Is it their vast experience alone
that gives them this credit? What do younger adults contribute? Can’t they make
decisions?
The younger adults have raging hormones and extra
energy getting pumped out of their hearts along with blood. In my personal
experience, I have noted that when am having abundance of energy flowing
through my veins, I have inclined myself more towards entertainment and fun.
When am little tired to bring down the roof; that’s when I tend to be more
productive. Also, having grown in an electronic age among gadgets, it’s no
wonder that I find myself most creative only during the routine power cut of
the day. The elders with their hormones having pacified and hearts needing a pacemaker,
are more stable; and they still think gadgets are only for those with 007
status. So, is it really Younger versus Older ‘or’ Stronger versus Weaker.
These are only from daily activities.
On a broader scale, such as life or business, it’s a
little different. Many entrepreneurs and people from management studies, in
their early twenties, come out with a lot of confidence that they can change
the world, only to find out that they can’t. Why? It is ruled by the older
people.
One can say that our own Dhirubhai Ambani, Bill
Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Sergey Bin and a few others were youngsters when
they started conquering the world. But, that’s just one half of the story we
have been told. History doesn’t record the plight of those, who tried to storm
the world but found scratching their heads years later. The latter half will
overwhelm the former. Younger adults are ‘make it or break it’ type. Elders
don’t break things; they don’t make things for that reason either. They are
admirable in holding onto things.
They have a lot of experience, they know how the
world works; so, why don’t they make things? When someone grows old, he gets a
lot of people around, people who are dependable on him. So the risk that is
required to make things; he doesn’t have the strength to take those risks. Why
don’t they break things? Nearly the same reason; they know the value of what
they are holding onto. The younger adults do have people around but they aren’t
the dependable ones and they can afford to take the risks. Everyone knows why
they break.
Younger see tomorrow and elder see today in
development; younger see today and elder see tomorrow in sustainability. The success
formula is a fusion of both. That’s why they say every team needs a mixture of
both young and old. It’s like having a company with a younger CEO and an older
Chairman.
Something that goes parallel to what we are
discussing now is the field of coaching and teaching. Back during the days of
10th and 12th, when the academics were too rigorous, I
used to wonder; why are these teachers pushing me so hard when they themselves haven’t
achieved anything. I know now, what a witless grumbling that had been. One
reason why certain people make excellent coaches and teachers is because those
people failed, may be even failed miserably. So, they know exactly where
someone could fail and they can prevent others from making the same mistake.
‘’The years teach much which the days never knew’’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson. I end with this quote as I feel Emerson told in a single line much of what I have tried in many.
Swasthika Sang
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