STAY FOOLISH!

Human life in this world, no matter in which setting, is very similar to the wildlife in the jungle. One has to develop strategies of survival or one will be consumed by others.

There are a million strategies that have been developed by different people all along the history and that can be employed by other people in different circumstances. However, not all strategies work in all situations, and given the fact that life is in a constant state of flux, one has to be fluid, and learn and develop strategies all the time.

One such strategy can be what I like to call the “deception of understanding.” Most human beings, invested in the natural narcissism that all of us have up to a certain degree, have to express themselves as soon as they understand something. They have to let others know that they understood this or that. For example, if I have a friend who has a plan to start a new business, but he hasn’t shared it with me, and still I have deduced this in some way, I will have an insurmountable urge to let my friend know that I know his plan. This is how human ego works. We feel a need to flatter ourselves by letting others know how we understood what they thought or what they planned or anything else. And this is one way how we try to establish our reputation as someone who is intelligent and who understands things.

A great strategy of survival, though, can be letting others think you don’t understand them, their plans, their thoughts, or their ways. Let them believe you are dumb. Or at least dumber than you really are. And they will never be prepared to face you. Because they don’t consider you important enough. They will keep acting the way they do without modifying their methods because they think their current methods are working at deceiving you. Just try this: the next time you infer something of value, or you think you have deduced something important, just stay quiet. Act as if nothing happened. And soon you will see how that works in your favor.

In the jungle, it is very important that those who prey on you or the ones you prey upon don’t notice your presence. Blend in the vast gray background of stupidity and dimness. So that you are safe from predators as you easily mark your own unsuspecting prey.

~Rishiraj