1 + 1 greater than 2
We, humans, are the only living beings in this world who has been provided with the power of logic. We feel happy when we solve complex problems using our logic. But do we think whether that is consequential or not? Or who created that problem for us to solve? The answer from most of us would be NO. We always get overwhelmed by the challenges we face. Either we feel timid or we feel motivated. But we never think about why we need to face that challenge. We are obsessed with How and What that we forget we must start from Why.
Answering the question of who created problems for us to solve, mostly it is us who complicates everything. The art of living a simple life has been a research topic and many scientists are working on to find why people complicate things. People have won a Nobel prize for finding out the powerful yet simple truths. One of them is we humans never like to have something idle for a long period of time. Let it be our sensory organs like mouth, ears, eyes, and nose or our brain or our heart we want to put it under constant use. We do the same with putting the power of logic under use. We complicate many things just because of our need to use whatever is present with us. Let us understand this peculiar behavior of humans by relating to our life activities. Let us assume that you have bought a brand new iPhone. Will you keep it idle and use it only when you need to talk to someone. Obviously No, there have been instances you would unlock it and had nothing useful to do. And this is the primary reason why a big chunk of our time is consumed on social media. Phones were found as a means to communicate with people. The other additional features are for our comfort. But most of us have lost the motive of why the phone was invented in the first place. This is the problem of forgetting the WHY in whatever we do.
How do we make sure we are aware of Why? Is it possible? Yes. It is possible. We humans have another power of being interdependent and communicate with others. If we can put it to good use, we can create an external medium who shall remind us of our Why of Life. This is how successful people achieve extraordinary results. If you think that a successful person has done everything by himself to be in that position then you are wrong. It is possible only in films where the protagonist takes up 90 percent of the screen space and time. But real life is radically different. Take the example of Steve Jobs, he had Steve Wozniak to take care of all the technological part of their business. That is how Apple was born. Maybe we misinterpret wrongly because Steve Jobs was the face of the company. Wherein Wozniak was working hard behind the scenes. That character playing the role of an unsung hero is highly delicate and important. It can make or break us. Few teams around the world are successful in their respective sport not because of one player but because of the one player plus the timely contribution of those unsung heroes. Yes, that is what the topic is all about 1 + 1 is always greater than 2.
Now let us see why people are not open to interdependence and think independence is what suits them? Humans are very good learners, they never differentiate whether they are learning the right thing or not. Most of them fall under this category. But we are good at pointing out the mistakes done by others. So we have to put that to good use here. Learn the art of interdependence. Have a friend with you who not only shares your liking but also points out the mistakes you do. Build trust. For people who feel that everyone are selfish and everyone is having hidden motives, please reconsider your thought. I agree people are selfish, we are selfish, everyone here has a motive hidden from the world, but are those not human mindset? Are we not trained to fight or flight when we are in danger? We always have given priority to our survival, so we all are selfish in one way or the other. But it is not wrong to be selfish. But it is wrong to be only selfish. We have seen wild animals, they hunt only when they are hungry. Still, they co-exist in the forest. You can’t say a lion to be selfish just because it kills a dear for food. So don’t feel offended when someone puts his priority first.
We have been interdependent species all our life but campaign for the independence of an individual. Choosing whatever you like is not independence rather is rash decision making. Independence is living in your own space without affecting the space of another individual. Coming back to the point of people’s openness towards others I want to share a story here.
Once a king wanted to build a big temple and do the rituals for the presiding deity. So he asked his people to bring one litre of milk. For every family, they have to contribute one litre. He told to pour it in a big container. People obliged so. But when the king visited the next day, the container was full of water. Every citizen thought that others will pour milk and we shall pour water. The same problem is existing now amongst us. We feel that everyone are having hidden motives, there is no one who can be trusted. But that is wrong. The law of life is trust. As a child, we trust our parents. As a teenager, we trust our friends. As a parent in our old age, we trust our children. But many people misinterpret trust and dependence. People strive wrongly for independence.
A question for all of you. You people know practically what is possible. Yet you see instances in daily life where there are extraordinary achievers. What do you think makes them punch above their weight? If it is once, we may say they have worked hard and luck also favored them. But consistently day in and day out we see these people achieving extraordinary results. Interdependence is what is expected of you in any business. And 1 + 1 > 2 is a universal law. It will work even if you don’t pay heed and use it for your benefit. We shall see a negative way in which it makes an impact.
If you are facing only one problem at a time, you stand a good chance to solve it successfully. But when another problem adds up it becomes slightly difficult and it requires greater than the cumulative effort needed to solve the problem individually. So this principle of 1 + 1 works even when you are not aware of it. Now, let us see where it has a positive effect. Consider the same situation, as your problem adds up. Let us consider you get the help of your friends now it becomes easier. Friends are present precisely for that reason.
Let us come to an understanding and conclusion about what is 1 + 1 > 2. When two people are working in tandem they will achieve the success that wouldn’t have been possible if they worked alone. The reason for that is, the growth we achieve is exponential. Jesus just had 12 disciples to spread goodness. He was interdependent on his disciples. And we see the results now. The simplest 1 + 1 relationship you can have is within your family and friends. For a person who practices this principle, the world will become a lovely place to live. But the factor of insecurity over your ideas, over your possession and friends, have to be washed out completely. How to do that will be discussed in my next article. The bottom line is to understand that universal law like this work even when we are not obliged to practice it. But understanding it and practicing consciously makes sure that we get benefitted by these universal laws. Have a nice day. Bye.
