Author: Dr. Ajit Varwandkar
Laddu was a primary school student. The school had organized a fest, and all kids enjoyed the event. Children contested in various games and contests. Laddu won many chocolates and balloons as gifts and awards. When he reached home, it was his turn to play with those balloons. He counted those and found them to be 20 in number. But there was a problem. All those balloon threads had gotten intertwined. It was really becoming difficult for him to separate one from the other.
The more he tried to simplify the mixed knots, the more difficult it became for him to find a solution. Frustrated with the situation, Laddu approached his mother. To his surprise, the mother could separate the threads in just a few minutes. Laddu looked at her with eyes of question marks and wonder. She replied, ‘Son, all I did was remove the complicated threads away from the bundle. The others found a way to get set free as soon as a few mixed threads were taken off!
Friends, this story has a vital life lesson imbibed in it. Usually, most of us apply complex methods to simplify a situation; however, invariably, the better solution is to focus on removing complexities. It matters where you put your focus on! In short do not work on simplifying, instead remove complexities in the process.
We all have encountered road traffic jams. In the worst of the congestions, efforts to simplify the situation rarely gives any positive results. What works is removing the bottlenecks! Once the wrongly placed vehicle is moved, the traffic starts moving again.
An industrialist invested handsome riches in making it a fully technology-enabled world-class house. The car garage was specifically made of artificial Intelligence based technology. People used to visit the place to admire the art. Eventually, this mansion became the talk of the town. Then came the day the fellow organized the housewarming ceremony. He invited many friends to the event.
It was also the time for this man to buy a new car. He purchased the world’s best available SUV. However, this decision created a big challenge for them on the special day. While putting the new car inside the garage, they realized it was a few inches taller than the entrance gate height! The construction engineers should have realized that the high-technology garage may also have to accommodate a high-roof car. The party was about to start, and the amazed owner looked at the builder with question marks. If the car can not get inside the garage, it will create a poor impression.
The engineers on the job had multiple solutions, but all of those required a lot of time and money investment. The house owner wanted an immediate solution to the complex situation. “I cannot accept the faux pass” said the owner. A security guard employed on the premises was keenly observing the developments. When nothing else seemed to work, he went to the owner and said he had a quick-fix solution idea.
People around wondered what this guy may have to say. Is it really possible for an uneducated security guard to offer solutions that those highly qualified engineers could not think of?
That’s when the guard said, ‘Sir, your car is just a few centimetres taller than the entrance gate. The short-term solution could be just to release some air from the vehicle tyres. As we do it, the car height will come down, and it will be possible for you to take the car inside the garage!”
Friends, sometimes we get trapped in the urge to overanalyze a situation. So much so that we tend to rely only on highly technical, professional and learning solutions. In retrospect, the realization dawns that the solutions were not as complex as the problem situation seemed to be!
Many of our life issues are also the same. The message is to think ‘simple’. The best way to observe simplicity is to keep complexities away.
Do contact me in case you have any career queries.
Dr. Ajit Varwandkar is the Director of myaglakadam.com. He is a leading career counselor and can be contacted on 9826132972 or email him at info@fsindia.in
This column was originally published by the author in The Times of India