What defines us?
Had actually sent a mobile post last night while doing duty in camp, apparently it got lost in transit...
Its just something that had been bugging me for quite sometime. About how we look at the people around us and how we see them. What is it really that defines who we are to the people around us? I think to a very large extent our occupation has become the definitive factor. "Oh Linda the school teacher?" "Samuel, the one who works in IBM?" Then again, i suppose it only applies to working adults. For teens it would probably be: "Jack from RI?" "Cindy from St. Nicholas?" Schools.
Hmmm... wait a minute... i think i see a pattern there. Organisations? Christians would probably go: "Gerald from CHC" "Pam from Calvary" in their minds.
Anyway, its not about HOW we remember people. But how the organisations that we remember people by affects the sub-conscious value or Price-Tag that we pin onto them. Jack from RI is obviously smarter than Ryan from some other neighbourhood school. Bryan from IBM is definitely more capable than Wilson from some local small set up. All these without actually having any concrete evidence. Its what people call presumptions? Yet i believe that many people are bound and weighed down by these generally held perceptions so much so that who they REALLY are never surface. They become defined by the organisation that they're identified with.
Ok not everyone bothers about how people perceive them. Nonetheless it IS an existing social phenomenon. And i guess i'm whining about it cos of the numerous suggestions that i've received about changing my job. Whats wrong with being a soldier? Um... ya, the usual wrongs. Sure, with my "abilities" i SHOULD be able to carve out a bright future elsewhere. Sure, but that is my choice. Do you mean that if i were an entreprenuer today and not a soldier you would want to be with me?
Think about that. The person is the same person, but if he had a different job, belonged to a different organisation, would your valuation and perception of him change?
Its just something that had been bugging me for quite sometime. About how we look at the people around us and how we see them. What is it really that defines who we are to the people around us? I think to a very large extent our occupation has become the definitive factor. "Oh Linda the school teacher?" "Samuel, the one who works in IBM?" Then again, i suppose it only applies to working adults. For teens it would probably be: "Jack from RI?" "Cindy from St. Nicholas?" Schools.
Hmmm... wait a minute... i think i see a pattern there. Organisations? Christians would probably go: "Gerald from CHC" "Pam from Calvary" in their minds.
Anyway, its not about HOW we remember people. But how the organisations that we remember people by affects the sub-conscious value or Price-Tag that we pin onto them. Jack from RI is obviously smarter than Ryan from some other neighbourhood school. Bryan from IBM is definitely more capable than Wilson from some local small set up. All these without actually having any concrete evidence. Its what people call presumptions? Yet i believe that many people are bound and weighed down by these generally held perceptions so much so that who they REALLY are never surface. They become defined by the organisation that they're identified with.
Ok not everyone bothers about how people perceive them. Nonetheless it IS an existing social phenomenon. And i guess i'm whining about it cos of the numerous suggestions that i've received about changing my job. Whats wrong with being a soldier? Um... ya, the usual wrongs. Sure, with my "abilities" i SHOULD be able to carve out a bright future elsewhere. Sure, but that is my choice. Do you mean that if i were an entreprenuer today and not a soldier you would want to be with me?
Think about that. The person is the same person, but if he had a different job, belonged to a different organisation, would your valuation and perception of him change?
posted by Justus at 9:32 AM
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