Man Is No Longer a Social Animal
-Amlesh Ranjan
The legendary Greek Philosopher, Aristotle said in mid-3rd century BC, “Man is by nature a social animal…. “, and I fully agree with his assertion that the society precedes the individual but, centuries have passed and, things have sure changed. Most of us love to believe that we continue to be social, but my thoughts are to the contrary, please allow me to put across the same.
We have three components in our life, Personal, Social & Professional. Almost all aspects of our being can be captured under one or, the other head among these three. While, many keep arguing about work-life balance etc., I believe, the World is doing fairly, ok as far as our Personal Life is concerned and, also when it comes to discharging our Professional duties. What we, most of us, have really lost, is a Social life. For many, the extended personal and, or, professional circle becomes the social life.
I can hear the rebuttals coming from many of you, “Thanks to digital, we are possibly more social”. Yes, social media platforms have created more connections with friends/families and have revived many old ones also. It has also bridged the distances and we are interacting far more than what we have normally been doing. Personally, I am a big believer of the power and purpose of social media but, this kind of social hyper-connectedness has sadly made us even more individualistic and, has poached upon our personal and professional lives. Virtually, yes, we are more social but really, no, we are not.
Please close your eyes and try remembering your best social life… was it in your college…. was it in your locality…. was it in the music classes… was it in the sports ground… was it in a cause. The answer, possibly, would be one or, more of the above. Most of us, end up leaving the place, where we grew up or, have studied and move to another place and the biggest casualty is, our social life. We end up having our personal and or, professional life doubling up as our social life. A distinct Social life is critical not just for our true well-being but also for our continued growth as an individual. It is very, very important that we reclaim our social life.
Reclaiming social life is easy. Just think about one passion of yours which sets your soul on fire; gets your heart, aflutter; makes your juices flow; fuels your energy to peak….. It can be sports, running, music, adventure, arts, literature, movies, dance, theatre, biking …. anything. Now, find out a group in your current place of stay and just join them, if not, take lead, form a group.
Believe me, even if you give your 3-4 hours or, half day a week on weekends to one passion of yours with a group of strangers, you would have reclaimed your social life. You will create a new circle of friends who are not bothered about your domain or, designation and it will also be a platform of reality check for you. Irrespective of the geography, age, caste, creed or, religion, the only thing that will bind you together, will be the passion and it will be mutually rewarding.
These 3-4 hours or, half a day, once a week social time, pursuing a passion will be truly magical. It will have a positive impact on your personal and professional spheres of your life as well. It will keep you charged for rest of the week. So, go ahead, revive one of your Passions, find or, form a Group and get social again.
Yes, Let’s Reclaim Our Social Life !
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.
