Through my post-dinner walks in the neighbourhood, my ears have learnt that the popular Big Boss television show has returned. All thanks to television noise flowing out of homes. I have never watched it religiously but I know many of us each year eagerly wait for its curtains to go up. This often reminds me of a university function I attended not many years ago where the chief guest Daljit Singh Cheema, the then education minister of Punjab, talked about this show in his address to the students for a reason.
“Do you know why a show like Big Boss spells success every year? All because its makers knew that most of us are always interested in the lives of others, which is why they must have got galvanised to make such a home that everyone can freely watch, wherever they are.
In other words, they studied our psychology and crafted the show accordingly—an open secret that makes every season of their show so popular,” he said, which instantly led to ripples of laughter in the audience, many agreeing with his words.However, the silence bounced back as he came to the point that he wanted to convey. “In our journey of life, we need to focus on ourselves which will help us to grow.
But if we continue to be bothered about what’s happening in the lives of people around us we may get off our own track. If we adopt the habit of focusing on our self at a young age, we can really help ourselves and if we don’t, we will continue to stay distracted.” The students went on to clap, taking cognisance of his message. Sitting among them as a journalist to cover the event, I thought about these views.
After all, be it the workplace, neighbourhood or public places, a majority love keeping any eye on others. Some go a step further and end up labelling the hearts of others—good or bad, clean or not; sometimes the habits too, which are acceptable, which aren’t. Or what has our neighbour recently bought that triggers to when are we buying the same product?
Imagine if we use the same energy on ourselves that we spend on others. It can certainly gives us more time and value to discover ourselves, our talent hidden within us that could not only help us to grow but also make our own life more meaningful and intriguing. As Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu is thought to have said, “Knowing others is knowledge, knowing yourself is enlightenment.”