Session 10: Why are we here?

Today DC started by showing a nice clip from Men in Black. You can see that clip here - Clip

The first half of the clip (till 2:04) showed a very enthusiastic James Edwards asking what is a seemingly simple question - "Why exactly are we here?" The answer provided by the nerdy Jake Jenson was "We are here because you are looking for the best of the best of the best, Sir". To which James replies "He's just really excited and he has no clue why we're here". Isn't that true with most of us at some point or the other in our lives? In engineering, we were all excited and pumped up. We were so pepped up that we wanted to change the world! And yet, we had no clue why we were there. Our parents told us "Beta, you are doing this because you are the best of the best, one of the chosen few". So are we here "because of this" or are we here "for this"? Are we here because of a reason or are we here for a reason? That is the critical question.

Looking back at my life, my MBA in IIM Lucknow is perhaps the classic example to this story. I wanted to MBA in an IIM to prove to the world that I am the best of the best of the best, one of the chosen few. Well, my parents wanted me to do the same crappy MS, but MBA was more prestigious. But that is just the "because of" part. What about the "for" part. Why am I here? By the time I have realized that, three terms were up, a year was screwed and my grades were screwed. I was absorbed by life and I dissolved in it completely. I still have no idea, even to date, why I did my MBA. Was it because I wanted to, or because I deserved to, or was it because I didn't want to do a MS? I have no idea.

The second part of clip (the table-pulling and the training scenes), where James shoots the little girl right in the forehead. James had the presence of mind. He had the qualification, but he was also aided by his sound temperament. He was, as DC said, "an active consumer of information". He could sense the surroundings around him, think logically and make rational decisions. He used his head and not his heart. His heart would have told him "Shoot the aliens", but his head told him "What is that 8-year old girl doing in this ghetto, carrying books related to Quantum Physics?" Even in the movie "21", Ben Campbell is chosen by Micky Rosa for being a member of the Blackjack team, because he used his head and not is heart while solving "The Monty Hall Problem". So the head is better than the heart. But passion comes from the heart, right?

DC also talked something about "Desire" and "Fear" as two means of concentration. We concentrate on something because we are either desire to (meaning we do not have a choice) or because we fear it (we can change that and hence we have a choice). Desire, as he said, puts the "I have to do it" in us and not the "I will do it" This "will" must come from the intellect, which is one of the main governing factors in any current occupation (we are in a knowledge-based society). Remove your fears and make yourself the "will do" person. One of the recent movies of Jim Carrey, "Yes Man", deals with the concept of saying "YES" to everything and embracing life as it comes to you. Saying "Yes" is a form of saying "I will". Do it, while you still can!