The universal law of relativity states that everything in the universe is neutral. However, meaning is derived from comparison. In other words, one can neither make sense of nor assign meaning to something unless they make a comparison with something else. Without darkness, light can never be appreciated and if no soul ever experienced cold weather, they would definitely not appreciate the power of the sun. Likewise, experiences can be christened as either good or bad based on the existence of either encounters. Moreover, we know there are tall people because chances are high that we have seen short ones or slightly shorter ones. The same goes with skin complexion.
Relativity plays a critical role in the choices we make on a daily if not hourly basis. Choice of mate, choice of career to everything in between is crystalized since we tend to make decisions based on what we do not want. A big house is hard to maintain, would much rather have a compact house. Women from certain parts of the country act a certain way hence would not touch them with a ten foot pole. Almost froze to death in a certain part of the world and would live in arid, hot places anytime. These are some of the examples that illustrate our thought process with regards to decision making. Relativity in my opinion acts as the nerve center of this process.
One bright morning, I woke up with an inexplicable feeling of exhilaration. It sure felt like one of those days where things seemed to go right as my well horned instincts told me it was. I whistled joyfully as I took a quick shower and made ready to leave for work. Over the breakfast table, my wife always the meticulous one was quick to notice my happy aura and enquired as to what I had in mind. All she got for a response was a pleasant smile, that of an innocent boy as happy as a lark.
Work on Monday has a notorious reputation of being boring but for reasons best known to the almighty, I enjoyed myself most until my perplexed colleagues thought I had finally lost my sanity or whatever little was left of it. Over lunch hour, the administrative assistant came to my cubicle and called me outside. She then requested me to follow her. Fear gripped me as my bowels churned for being summoned was an out of the blues occurrence.
We veered sharply and made for the administration block. There was only one reason for us to head that way and all of a sudden, the jolly nature disappeared as fast as lightning. I had heard all sorts of tales about a visit to the HR Manager’s office and now faced the downright prospect of getting a first-hand experience. She knocked at the massive, intimidating door ahead of us and from the inside came a gentle yet firm voice. “Come in” and I trembled like jelly. Were it not for my knees, I would have been one big mess.
“That will be all Audrey” he dismissed the assistant as he ushered me into the office and beckoned me to take a seat. To my utter surprise, there were two other members of the human resource team comfortably seated. They watched my every move and stared at me intently without blinking an eyelid. The manager continued to extol on the virtues of the organization until I jolted him back to reality by asking for the purpose of the summons. He stammered, lost his footing and went on to mention that the company’s financial standing was a bit shaky. At that point, I knew my goose was cooked bearing in mind that my contract was almost up hence I stood at the precipice of an imminent lapse. To cut the long story short, the meeting marked the beginning to an end of my stay in the organization.
It took me a whole two minutes to come to terms with the situation, run a scenario analysis and label the encounter as positive so as to chart a way forward. In as much as I had a toddler at home, I had a support system to cushion me and sought consolation in the fact that rain doesn't fall on one roof alone. Moreover, Shaggy's song ‘keeping it real’ rang true to my ears especially the part that states "whenever you're sad and blue, there's always someone who has it worse than you". After getting over the initial shock, I was composed enough and agreed to share a cup of tea with my tormentors. I even had the sheer audacity to add snacks. I’m sure they would have gone out of their way to ensure I did not cause a scene even if it meant adding more goodies. Thereafter, I walked out with my head held high and put together as if nothing had just happened.
The world renowned singer Shaggy features twice in this narrative. In addition to offering words of encouragement in absentia via the song, memory of an earlier incident is rekindled. When I was still new in the land of opportunity, cassette tapes were slowly being phased out of the market as CDs gained popularity. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your persuasion, my car's audio system was still analogue and the radio only played cassettes. Subsequently, I had to dig far and wide to get the cassettes in order to satisfy my listening pleasure. At that point in time, I didn't have deep pockets to overhaul the audio system. Therefore, I had to contend with the treasure hunt every now and then.
One evening while out shopping with my brother, I was over the moon when I spotted Shaggy's tape on the shelves. I asked my brother to buy it for me and without flinching one bit, he obliged. Upon arrival back home, he was not amused to learn that it had cost him $9.99. When he agreed to make the purchase it, he was under the impression that it cost $0.99. In the back of his mind he made a determination that obsolete items ought to cost less. However, the contrary position holds true for the most part. Antique items cost an arm and a leg. In this case, the law of relativity informed his purchase decision since he made a comparison of value vis-a-vis the prices.
The old woman looks after the child to grow its teeth and the young one in turn looks after the old woman when she loses her teeth is an African proverb which holds true. Were it not for a supportive partner and positive outlook, the job loss would have taken a toll on my well-being. Within no time, I was back on my feet. A new role was secured barely a month later and I quickly had to learn the ropes in the new organization.
As per the dictates of the law of relativity, your problem is never really the problem. Your reaction to the problem is the problem. In other words, how you view the situation determines whether or not you will pull through. If you take on a negative approach and view it as the end of the road, it will definitely be the end of the road for sure. The opposite holds true. A positive approach will spark creativity in seeking solutions and you will realize that the best way to eat an elephant in your path is to cut him up into little pieces.
Often times, people tend to make comparisons during their downtime. It’s natural to do so. Comparing yourself to someone worse makes you feel better and comparing yourself to someone better makes you feel worse. Therefore, the foolproof approach is to always maintain a positive outlook and problem solving will be child’s play. I know that some might argue that each situation calls for a different approach the same way that even with years of education, solving tough problems and handling complex issues, we take a while standing before glass doors thinking whether to push or pull.
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