Saturday, November 08, 2008

Adventure, Risk and Optimism

I was in the office till 11.30 pm today. James Bond is probably the only person who can say this and still invoke thoughts about adventure in the listener's mind . Alas, I am not a secret agent, but just a software developer. I know you want to leave already after knowing this, but stick around I don't write that bad.
The word adventure conjures some typical images in our mind. Usually those of adventure sports like rock climbing,skiing,sky diving or car racing. But what exactly is the essence of adventure? It is risk. Anything that involves a risk is an adventure. Why do we like to do adventurous things? To quote the cliche, it makes us feel alive. What does that even mean? Being alive is something we do 24X7. That is biologically true, but we are not really alive all the time. Being alive means being aware of everything around you. Experiencing something, means same as observing each and every detail around you in everything you do. When placed in a high risk environment our brain is always alert and therefore totally aware of what is going on. In such an environment our survival instincts kick in and we feel motivated and absorbed in whatever we are doing. Concentration is at peak. This leads to some hormonal activity causing an adrenalin rush. At the end of the experience if things go as we wanted we feel proud about having survived the situation. So adventure increases our self esteem.
The essence of any adventure is uncertainty or risk. At the start of an adventure we feel overwhelmed by the circumstances. Then we just give this thing all we have, and once we come out on top we feel good about ourselves. Adventure might be the reason why children are so happy. For them everything is new, they are learning all the time. Therefore each small victory gives them immense joy.
Now that we understand adventure we can realize that it does not necessarily have to be outdoors. For a PhD student, his research is an adventure since he devotes all his energy and many years (usually 4 to 7) into it hoping that he will get results leading to a thesis leading to a degree. He puts many years of his life into something hoping for a positive outcome. Similarly an entrepreneur is an adventurer too. He devotes a lot of money and energy into a business that he believes in. He is not sure of success but he tries real hard. Success does not come easy and quick but when it comes you feel that it was worth it. For someone driving in a big city like Delhi for the first time is also an adventure since that is literally a fatal risk. After a while we all get used to it. Let me tell you from my own experience, I have done skydiving twice. And when I did it for the second time I was only doing it for the view and not for the thrill. It is not as dangerous as it looks. This is because you don't do it alone as a beginner, your instructor is strapped to your back and opens the parachute when the time comes. So when I completed my first skydive I did not feel a sense of accomplishment or relief. But once when I made a round trip on my scooter from my house in NOIDA to college in Bawana which are more than 40km apart, it was an adventure. There were moments during the journey where I thought I would die. This is because I was not accustomed to driving the scooter that much but still made that long journey. After that time I never drove such long distance on a scooter again! The point to take home here is that adventure is there in all situations of life and not just in things that are stereotypically labelled as adventurous. Life is an adventure, skydiving and roller coster rides are just entertainment.
One more critical thing about adventure is that it requires a positive attitude. People who take risks have a naturally optimistic view of things. During any phase of adventure deep down in our minds we do harbor a positive attitude despite the possibilities of failure we see around us. Positive attitude is a very important quality in life. It is the same as faith. The reason people believe in the concept of God as an all controlling entity is because that convinces them that everything will be all right in the end and gives them strength to get on with life. You should have a positive attitude in life not because you believe there is a god but because you need to believe in yourself to succeed. If you don't believe that you will succeed in what you are doing then you will not try hard enough and eventually fail. Things worth having in life do not come easy. Failure should be a learning experience, it has to be taken as an opportunity to become aware of the flaws you committed. It should also be a time to study why the person who succeeded was able to make it. The way you can maintain a positive attitude in the face of failure is by telling yourself the things you learnt from it and realizing that you have become a better person since you will not repeat those mistakes again and can work on the areas that need improvement. If you don't want to do something then just dont do it, rather than doing it half heartedly since you will gain nothing out of the experience. But if you really want to do something then give it all you have, you will have a rich experience irrespective of the outcome of your venture. Even the Bhagwat Gita says the same thing about detachment from the outcome. Life is long enough to absorb failures doing things that you love to do but too short to waste it on things that do not inspire you. The worst 4 letter word in the world does have 'u' as the second letter. And that word is 'Quit', never quit. This poem by an anonymous author explains just why that is true.

Don't Quit

Author Unknown

*

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit


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Also remember that the night is darkest before dawn. Which means that the toughest battle happens when you are closest to victory. So if things are getting harder then you are on the right track!

I think I am getting too serious, so let us relax listening to this really nice song. It is available on youtube. It is by Bobby McFerrin.


Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy.
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy.
Don't worry, be happy now.

Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy.
Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy.

Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy.
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy.

Look at me -- I'm happy. Don't worry, be happy.
Here I give you my phone number. When you worry, call me,
I make you happy. Don't worry, be happy.

Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got no gal to make you smile
Don't worry, be happy.
'Cause when you worry your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
Don't worry, be happy.

Don't worry, don't worry, don't do it.
Be happy. Put a smile on your face.
Don't bring everybody down.
Don't worry. It will soon pass, whatever it is.
Don't worry, be happy.
I'm not worried, I'm happy...

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