The other day at lunch, I observed one of my friends, who had ordered a middle-eastern platter, eating in a pattern. He ate the salad first, and waited for the falafel till the end. One of the possible inferences might have been, his dislike for the item, one that would end up in the trash. Quite contrarily, I understood that the pattern reflected one of my practices since childhood. I used to bite the biscuit edge of the cream biscuit till only the creamy portion remained. To confirm my assumption, I asked him whether he always ate the tastiest items in the end. To my relief the answer was 'Yes'. The reason why I call this seemingly insignificant incident a behavioral pattern, is because, (as per my observation) people would generally fall into any one of these classes viz. ones who put good things off till the end and the others who would make the most of the present.
It is not really difficult to extend this observation to other facets of life. If I ever buy a new shirt, I wait for the perfect occasion to wear it. With a rather stupid approach, from my frame of reference, a roommate of mine would wear it the very day he brings it home. In a different walk of life, I try to solve the most difficult problem of a homework or a test first and enjoy the pleasure of finishing the easier ones near the deadline. Many do the opposite.
But what exactly is the nature undereath people of either category? I will begin with my approach first to make sure I remain consistent with my behavior. I assume that if good things are not yet over, I can look forward to something more exciting and pleasurable in future. That way, I can be eager about the upcoming future. Alas! I am constantly reminded of the exams where I screw up and regret not getting whatever points I could, by solving the easier problems, by making a foolish attempt to satisfy my ego. The other kind, with a rather childish impatience, make the most out of the present, and in the process at least get to experience what is in hand. Despite my inherent nature, I fully support the other kind. As they say, " A bird in hand ......".
6 comments:
who is your "rommie" who wears new clothes asap .. i think its shekhar hehe
u havent ended it well... :p
interesting observation!
Good post Sreeni! Although I wish the explanation for doing the hardest HW problem first were to relish the challenge as soon as you could :P
Well I keep the best things for later :) ... nice post
interestng post...i have also seen the same thing...but i m the kinds who do the easy stuff first n then go to the toughest so i have the mental satisfaction of getting done with the majority of the work...it works for me...i too wear the new shirt the very same day... i always wondered about the same things..but its nice to c dat u cud put this daily observation into such simple words...a pleasurable read...
cheers and sunshine...
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