We as a part of Gen Y have acquired quite a few virtues from our previous generations, polished a few, made a few vanish and in fact not to deny, we have also developed a few virtues of our own that we can pass on to the next generations. But today, if I make a simple moral accounting of the qualities that we have carried forward and the ones that we have let down the drain, the balance sheet of life really doesn’t tally; and the sad part is that the liability side just keeps bulging as each day passes by.
For a start, patience is something we lack. We need everything in life to be like a 20-20 cricket match; for a 3-hour game it is definitely an interesting format, but not for a 70-80 year lifetime. We need our pizzas fast, we eat fast, we drive fast, we talk fast, and for the craving of this fast-track life, we tend to think that we think fast – but in reality we think less. Very recently I was witnessing a TV talk show, and most of the Gen-‘Y’ers were typical hypocrites and they spoke without applying enough thought on the words they were about to utter. In their perspective any discussion or debate is just like a group discussion for a college seat or a part of the job interview process. All that they are looking for is attention and they think they are getting it by shouting on top of their voice. They are not worried if it really makes sense, does it hurt anyone else, or even if it correlates with their previous statement. Lack of patience is in the forefront of our generation’s debacles and it is high time we realize that virtues like these make an individual and life much more interesting, rather than we claiming ourselves to be an “interesting person”.
Another important characteristic that lacks in the Gen-‘y’ers is modesty. Do you think individuals become famous personalities just because of their talent? The most important ingredient of any individual’s success is his/her modesty and humility. A Sachin Tendulkar or a AR Rahman could have been gifted with extremely good skills and still be unsuccessful; but what made the difference is the humbleness with which they accepted their success. We can hardly see any successful person who is self-boasting. It is always better to be praised by others, rather than praising oneself.
Although everything cannot be followed on all scenarios, the greater we embrace these virtues, the better it would be for ourselves and also for a lot of others who are directly or indirectly dependant on us.
"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one"
- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor
