Bragging and sympathy

Life is not as easy as it sometimes seems to be. You need to find ways to live it. You need to find happiness in small things. You might have to ignore things which are not behaving in a fashion you would like them to behave.

People employ various approaches in different areas to keep living and enjoying. Sometimes, it may get to the nerves of the inhabitants around them. However, these methods may be important for the intended performance/results of the former or sometimes for the mere survival.

I have this habit of speaking highly of myself. So, even if I achieve a small result, I tend to brag about it. Internally, I might not consider that as a big achievement, yet from outside I would show it as if I have reinvented the wheel (a little exaggeration). I do not know why I do this, but I feel sometimes it is important. Sometimes, it gives you a boost when you give yourself a pat on the back.

I believe, till the time you are clear about the magnitude of your achievement (internally) and the bragging does not go to your head, it is kind of healthy for yourself. I agree that, that might not be the case for people around me who have to listen to me praising myself. To them you might look as an arrogant self-obsessed chap, yet I have seen many examples of people who are just the opposite and still have this habit.

There was this guy at my workplace who was one of the hardest working guys I have ever seen. I had the opportunity to sit beside him at work. The good part was that he loved to do what he did. That was what kept him motivated. There are people who work very hard, but it seems that they are being made to work. Any chance they get, they just cannot stop cursing the job they are doing.

Coming back to the guy I was talking about, he used to help others a lot. The situation was such that if anybody wanted some help, the default name which came to one’s mind was that of this guy. However, jokingly this person sometimes asked whosoever came for help, to say some words for praise for him. For someone dealing with him for the first time, this would seem an indication of egotism. However, within no time you would realize that he was a very down-to-earth person.

I think the general populace would like a person (over the one described above) who keeps thrashing himself/herself, sometimes for no reason and sometimes just for gaining sympathy; Or a person who would keep on cursing the system; who would portray the system as the combination of all that could go wrong. I have nothing against this category of people but I believe it is important not to take the things at face value and give a thought to the intentions behind particular behaviours.

Finally, though this might feel as an attempt to defend my habit, I myself am OK with it. I feel I am erring on the right side when it comes to differing in the way I think and the way I behave (may be this statement is just a manifestation of my habit).