Too Close for Comfort?
With great power, comes great
responsibility is what they say. These days, somehow I feel that with great
proximity, comes greater blinders. Great proximity to anything or anyone can
result in two different outcomes. The more involved we are in something or with
someone, either it makes us too knowledgeable about it or the person. The flip
side is that it makes us too foolish about the situation or the person.
For instance, if I am part of a club which I
deeply care about, I tend to think that it is the best club in the world. I
tend to overestimate its importance for others. The fact might be that they won’t
be interested in the club at all. But I am too blinded by the involvement that
I lose perspective. Same holds true when we fall in love. All we see is how
wonderful that person is. We wonder why others around us don’t see it!
The same happens when we are working
in a certain situation. If you are working in a certain realm of profession for
too long, there is this danger of falling to the fallacy of knowing too much. When
you know too much, you rarely take a chance. You know or you think you know before
taking a decision, what the outcome is going to be. The problem here is that you
don’t even explore certain possibilities. For all you know, the circumstances
might have changed. Something you tried earlier might not have worked due to a
certain situation. It might have changed completely. But you tend to not give
it a fair chance. Someone who doesn’t know about the field as much as you will
take a chance and they might succeed. Is this why every organization looks for
new talent quite often to escape the fallacy of knowing too much?
There is also the risk of being too
invested in the situation. I am not talking of economical or such tangible
investment. What I mean here is the emotional investment. When something is created
by you or is nurtured by you, then it is a bit difficult to look at it
objectively. It is almost like a parent-child relationship. The mindset here is
that my child/creation is the best thing that could have ever happened to
mankind. Why aren’t the people around not understanding it!
May be this is why we should allow
ourselves to be consumed by multiple endeavors. The perspective which one endeavor
gifts us might open up an entirely different mind space with which we can approach
an alternate passion. May be, letting more people in to what you are trying to
achieve will also help the cause. May be, stepping out of your interest for a
little while and then going back to it might make you realize its worth or lack
of it.
