I had a boss who was a bully, a heavy smoker, a moderate but regular drinker, very fond of sweets and constitutionally very strong. We often used to joke about him as an ideal model for a cigarette advertisement and a living testimony to smoking hardly affecting one's health!* The other joke was a standard one - a bull in a china shop!
When complimented on his robust health and asked for the secret he would often attribute it to just two factors. One was to eat well. The other was not to let anybody or anything cause stress to you while ensuring that you cause stress to all and sundry. They put it very pithily in Hindi - "stress (or tension) lene kaa nahin, dene kaa!" It has almost become a modern day mantra.
The first part may sound elementary. Yet we all know how difficult it is to practice. This gentleman always had his guards up against anyone causing any stress to him. I recall once he had some health problem. When someone remarked to him that he looked a little weak, he immediately retorted, "Are you trying to induce stress in me? I am perfectly fine!!"
The second part of the statement is rather puzzling and even counter-intuitive. I have always felt that the Newton's third law of equal and opposite reaction operates in the realm of human interactions too. So it is hardly possible to cause stress to another person without suffering the reaction in terms of some stress being caused to you as well.
The answer perhaps lies in the Newton's second law. It essentially says that the effect of a force on a body is inversely proportional to its mass. The same force will have greater impact on a less massive body and a lower impact on a very massive body. This is why mass is a measure of inertia too. Think of two moving bodies, one very heavy compared to the other. If the two collide, the light one will suffer strong deflection while the massive one will continue almost unaffected.
Inertia has a role in human interactions too. We may think of emotional inertia (EI) as one's sensitivity to people and goings-on around one as well as one's own inner turmoil. Those who are very sensitive can be said to have a much lower inertia and vice versa. So to be able to cause stress to others while remaining almost unaffected yourself, you must have a very high emotional inertia or very low sensitivity towards other people and perhaps your own self.
In physics a high inertia helps a body in persisting in a linear motion unless the disturbances are too heavy. In human affairs those with high EI can do the same; move doggedly to a goal along the shortest path. Sycophants, known as chamchaas in Hindi, also have an important role here. They add to the (emotional) inertia simply by sticking to a person and further acting as a shield against induced disturbances.
On the other hand, those with low EI, that is, high sensitivity are very likely to be easily thrown off a linear path. This is why creative people who are generally characterized by low EI, hardly fit into conventional leadership positions.
This perhaps also explains why many of the people in leadership positions are almost always insensitive and callous and tend to surround themselves with sycophants.
≠======================================
*Statutory warnings apply.
When complimented on his robust health and asked for the secret he would often attribute it to just two factors. One was to eat well. The other was not to let anybody or anything cause stress to you while ensuring that you cause stress to all and sundry. They put it very pithily in Hindi - "stress (or tension) lene kaa nahin, dene kaa!" It has almost become a modern day mantra.
The first part may sound elementary. Yet we all know how difficult it is to practice. This gentleman always had his guards up against anyone causing any stress to him. I recall once he had some health problem. When someone remarked to him that he looked a little weak, he immediately retorted, "Are you trying to induce stress in me? I am perfectly fine!!"
The second part of the statement is rather puzzling and even counter-intuitive. I have always felt that the Newton's third law of equal and opposite reaction operates in the realm of human interactions too. So it is hardly possible to cause stress to another person without suffering the reaction in terms of some stress being caused to you as well.
The answer perhaps lies in the Newton's second law. It essentially says that the effect of a force on a body is inversely proportional to its mass. The same force will have greater impact on a less massive body and a lower impact on a very massive body. This is why mass is a measure of inertia too. Think of two moving bodies, one very heavy compared to the other. If the two collide, the light one will suffer strong deflection while the massive one will continue almost unaffected.
Inertia has a role in human interactions too. We may think of emotional inertia (EI) as one's sensitivity to people and goings-on around one as well as one's own inner turmoil. Those who are very sensitive can be said to have a much lower inertia and vice versa. So to be able to cause stress to others while remaining almost unaffected yourself, you must have a very high emotional inertia or very low sensitivity towards other people and perhaps your own self.
In physics a high inertia helps a body in persisting in a linear motion unless the disturbances are too heavy. In human affairs those with high EI can do the same; move doggedly to a goal along the shortest path. Sycophants, known as chamchaas in Hindi, also have an important role here. They add to the (emotional) inertia simply by sticking to a person and further acting as a shield against induced disturbances.
On the other hand, those with low EI, that is, high sensitivity are very likely to be easily thrown off a linear path. This is why creative people who are generally characterized by low EI, hardly fit into conventional leadership positions.
This perhaps also explains why many of the people in leadership positions are almost always insensitive and callous and tend to surround themselves with sycophants.
≠======================================
*Statutory warnings apply.
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