Being old means Mr Know All. I had a friend, ES and he has been a banker for 20 over years and we have been close friends for many years. We came from the same High School. One day, when we were having lunch, he told me that as he grow older, he cannot tolerate scolding by his boss, who were younger than him. He feel hurt and angry. He resigned from the bank and went into business. After a few years of unsuccessful runs, he went back to the banking industry and joined a bank. Once awhile , we have lunch together and he will tell me the same thing which he felt years ago. He hate to be scolded by his bosses who is younger than him. But, now he has no choice as he needs a job.
Why do old people feel like that ? It is just ego. Old people suppose to have more experience and knowledge and should be guiding the young but if it is in a reverse position, it may not be tolerable for some. There is a Chinese saying, that old people " eat salt more than you eat rice" or "the older the ginger, the more chilli hot it will be ". This is only true if we keep improving our knowledge and skill. If we stop learning , the younger ones could be more knowledgeable than us. Intelligence and knowledge do not simply grow withn age. We will be very wrong to believe that older people should be smarter than the young ones. This is purely a self imposed rule and not been realistic.
Old people are face off because they are faceless. The need to be respected , the need to be useful or smarter than the young ones is very strong in human beings. But, nowadays, there are CEO's in their late thirties or early forties having more than thousands of people working under them. These young and smart people have good ideas, the latest knowledge and the guts to do the right things. However, there are still old people in late sixties and yet they are capable and passionate and continued to lead large corporates.
So, it is a fact that knowledge and skills do not automatically grow with age. The notion of old means more capable is totally wrong and misleading. Only the able will lead irrespective of their age. The point is that we should constantly and regularly update our self and become better. Some people work very hard and use their hard work to impress their bosses. However, the smarter ones will find time to study to improve their skills and will find new way of doing their job more easily and effectively. The term is "work smart and not only work hard".
If we keep to the notion that the older the better , many organizations or corporation will fail to day. Apart from the knowledge and skill , there is need for creativity and new ideas. For those old people, we should not stop the world from turning. If we are capable than the young, we should continue to lead but if we have lost the passion , skill and knowledge, we should let go and let the fittest take over. In this case , it is not only for one's survival but caring for the majority. If it is time to go, just let go.
We should adopt an open attitude like " survival of the fittest". This understanding is the best for everybody. Going against nature, is not good as we should follow the tide and may the best man win irrespective of his or her age. Once, we realise this philosophy and wisdom, it will be best for everyone. The earlier we realized this point , the better it will be for all of us.
Namaste.
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