All work and no play...

It is that time of the year where people go to year end functions and get to celebrate a whole year’s hard work with laughter, good food and friendly company. This is all good and fun and presents a much needed token of appreciation from the directors to the workers.

I do not wish to put a damper on anyone’s holiday season cheerfulness but I do somehow think that too much play can also end up in disaster. The keyword here is moderation. Few people actually practices moderation.

I love to sit and stare at the people at functions like these. Its almost like they evolve. Some people are uptight and get a bit merrier and talkative and might meet new people and then go home. That is all good moderation. I am mainly focussing on the party animals. Yes the creature that walks in all dressed up and walking the walk. I would like to think that some people have the intelligence and common sense to act accordingly. People start consuming alcohol and within a blink of an eye jokes go from witty to dumb stupid actions performed in front of a drunken crowd.

I have never found it very amusing when someone dances like they act in footloose or scratching like a chicken in its own back yard.  The most amazing act that i will never understand is the drunken person’s lack of judgement in front of the colleges they have to work with every day. They brake glasses and dance on stages. They laugh at who is the stupidest. This does not make sense to me at all.

What I do find the worst is when people compare their drunken state with each other the next day. It is almost like comparing who was the utter most useless person alive. They complain the whole day about their hangovers and headaches, wishing every fifteen minutes that they can go home.

They say stupid phrases like “never again” and “I hate alcohol”. They seem to want pity and when you do not give it to them they accuse you of being grumpy or even comparing you with them by assuming you were drunk as well, but of course when you are drunk, everyone seems a bit tipsy.

I might sound a bit judgemental and snobbish but I do believe that you should behave responsible when you are dealing with something as important as your career. If you plan to get drunk at a function, then please re consider. It might be advantageous to you to rather do some networking than drinking and talking to the toilet.

Do not iron on print

I do not iron my clothes. Yes it is true, I confess to this bad behaviour. My approach regarding this task is why should I? It is a waste of time, money and energy. Valuable resources that could have been applied better, but instead we waste it. I know I am not preaching to the choir because almost all of us iron our clothes or care to look acceptable. I often end up at crossroads like this one. Why would I want to look presentable to people?

This is where I require your full attention. Let us take an example. You are an architect that created stunning designs and produced amazing buildings. Your portfolio speaks for itself. You are waiting to pitch your ideas in order to seal the deal. Because of time constraints and certain Monday morning blues you did not get to iron your clothes and comb your hair. Your competition has just emerged from the board room and with his flashy new jacket and well styled hair he smiles as he walks past you. Now it’s your turn to dazzle them with your design and brilliance. You pitch the best design of your career yet. They look at you funny from the start. That afternoon you get informed that you lost the deal. The opposition (a newly qualified student) clinched the deal. The building goes up but costs the company double the amount because the architect lack the experience to spot the bugs hiding behind inexperienced mistakes.

Now from above example you may already have gathered what I am aiming towards? Your appearance should never become who you are. People judge you on your looks, and I absolutely hate that notion. As true as it is I must break that faulty trend. Since when does an ironed shirt make you the right man for the job? Your appearance should be the last thing on a professionals mind when evaluating whether they should hire or not.

I would like to encourage everyone to start seeing people for who they are and not how they appear. There are millionaires walking in torn clothes, just because they do not care about the standard set by people. We all can behave so shallow at times and I cannot help but think that we are still stuck in the stone ages. Who are we to judge a book by its cover?

We created a multimillion dollar industry just to look acceptable to other people. Imagine how much energy and money we would save on a simple thing as not ironing your clothes... This might sound trivial to you but it is actually a much deeper thought. How many things can we apply to this logic? If you are confident about yourself, then why do you care what other people think? Live your own life and not someone else’s.

I dare you... do not iron your clothes.