I read an article in the Times of India a couple of days back, on an experiment conducted to determine why human beings are hoarders and what motivate them to do so.. According to the news report, a control group were offered certain amount of chocolate provided they listen to harsh sound for a predetermined period of time. Another group was created formed and given the same offer, but the chocolate offered was lesser per unit of time than that of the first control group.
Both groups were then evaluated on how much chocolate they could eat. And then they asked them to take the test. Both groups were then evaluated based on the number of hours they could bear the sound and handed over the chocolates.
Findings were that both the low earning as well as high earning (in terms of chocolate) groups had overestimated the amount of chocolate that they could eat and it seemed that irrespective of the reward (amount of chocolate per unit time), both groups spent approximately the same time bearing the sound.
This points out to the surmise that humans in the face of a gain in lieu of unpleasant work tend to accumulate as much as they can, and at the same time overestimate how much of the rewards they can actually consume.
This got me thinking on a conversation that I had with a couple of my colleagues around a month back in Pune. The discussion revolved around the scams due to which our politicians come under the spotlight. The figures of the scam of course run into hundreds of crores if not thousands. The freewheeling debate got into an estimation of what you could buy with the money. While some said that they could buy an island, a few others opined that even after buying fancy yatches, an island or any number of Rolls Royce's, the fact was that the staggering amount that the scams run up to, the money would be in excess to what one could possibly accumulate and more importantly one could actually enjoy.
In almost all religions and faiths of the world, a common line is that, we come into this world empty handed and will leave empty handed. In view of this very true truth, one wonders as to when we should say enough to accumulation of wealth and actually start enjoying or using it for a good cause. Probably this is why Bill Gates, after fighting for world wide domination in operating systems, who in the process, ruthlessly crushed most of his competition, is today donating much of his wealth through the Bill and Melinda foundation.
In the course of our lives, we are offered many choices which may or may not be in alignment with what we want in life. It is up to us, what we choose. Do we choose a road that will give us fabulous wealth, but make us hate each and every day at work, or will it give us enough to sustain a decent lifestyle but leave us with enough time and energy to pursue things and activities that are close to our hearts.
The choice is always ours.
Both groups were then evaluated on how much chocolate they could eat. And then they asked them to take the test. Both groups were then evaluated based on the number of hours they could bear the sound and handed over the chocolates.
Findings were that both the low earning as well as high earning (in terms of chocolate) groups had overestimated the amount of chocolate that they could eat and it seemed that irrespective of the reward (amount of chocolate per unit time), both groups spent approximately the same time bearing the sound.
This points out to the surmise that humans in the face of a gain in lieu of unpleasant work tend to accumulate as much as they can, and at the same time overestimate how much of the rewards they can actually consume.
This got me thinking on a conversation that I had with a couple of my colleagues around a month back in Pune. The discussion revolved around the scams due to which our politicians come under the spotlight. The figures of the scam of course run into hundreds of crores if not thousands. The freewheeling debate got into an estimation of what you could buy with the money. While some said that they could buy an island, a few others opined that even after buying fancy yatches, an island or any number of Rolls Royce's, the fact was that the staggering amount that the scams run up to, the money would be in excess to what one could possibly accumulate and more importantly one could actually enjoy.
In almost all religions and faiths of the world, a common line is that, we come into this world empty handed and will leave empty handed. In view of this very true truth, one wonders as to when we should say enough to accumulation of wealth and actually start enjoying or using it for a good cause. Probably this is why Bill Gates, after fighting for world wide domination in operating systems, who in the process, ruthlessly crushed most of his competition, is today donating much of his wealth through the Bill and Melinda foundation.
In the course of our lives, we are offered many choices which may or may not be in alignment with what we want in life. It is up to us, what we choose. Do we choose a road that will give us fabulous wealth, but make us hate each and every day at work, or will it give us enough to sustain a decent lifestyle but leave us with enough time and energy to pursue things and activities that are close to our hearts.
The choice is always ours.
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