Friday, September 26, 2008

If you don’t have the head that’s this big, don’t wear that hat that’s this big


There are some people who just like to talk. They talk for the sake of talking. They talk, and talk, and talk. But, when it comes to doing, or taking the necessary action, nah! They are speechless. My foot! I’m utterly annoyed by this sort of person. But there are times when co-operating with them is inevitable. Sigh! The only thing that I can do is to endure and try to suppress the ferocious volcano inside me.

From time to time, daddy always teaches me about life using maxims, or short, and wise sayings. There is one that has already been deeply embedded in me. It goes in Chinese, “如果没有这样大的头, 就不要戴这样大的帽子”, which means “If you don’t have the head that’s this big, don’t wear that hat that’s this big”. It always reminds me to be realistic, to evaluate my strengths, and weaknesses before making any decisions, or taking any actions. I think this saying is wise when it is appropriately applied for it’s able to prevent the poor from always dining like a king, to prevent the persons with voice that’s able to scare cockroaches away from miles to participate in a singing competition, and so forth.

Although this saying sounds simple, and very much commonsense, I’m puzzled by the fact that there are some who just don’t understand. When doing group work or projects together, they are always opposing the opinions of others, which to them, are too “ordinary” and “uninteresting” while coming up with ideas that are rare and eccentric. Yes, I can’t deny that the ideas might be great, or superb, or even perfect However, it takes but a simple mind to understand that they won’t work. Try to imagine, if you just started learning English 3 months ago, plus the fact that you are not a language prodigy, do think that you will attempt to write the essay entitled “The Pros and Cons of Free Economy”??? No, I hear you all say. But, bear in mind that there might be some who would want to try out this question but end up writing craps. It’s their problem, however. I don’t care a wee bit. But, imagine you are required to write a free topic in English, as a group work. Will you choose that topic? No, I hear u all say again! For me, of course I won’t! Limited vocabulary is the main problem!

But, sadly, while doing an important project recently, there’s someone that kept suggesting ideas that are so absurdly unrealistic, unachievable, and so far, far away from our standard, while looking down upon the suggestions of others which he thought were too dry and ordinary. Well, when I asked the person to work out his ideas, all that person could do was struggling to start, like an old beetle car trying to cough the engine alive, and pathetically stay silent later! My foot! Not only it was truly time-wasting, it also made others frustrated and annoyed. I’m wondering whether that person has commonsense. “Commonsense is not for common people.” I hear this sometimes, and I can’t agree more with it!

So, from this experience, I’m provided an invaluable lesson. Choose you groupmates carefully, or endure the suffering later...

9 comments:

kyh said...

There are always people liddat in our world, whether we want it or not. Else there wouldn't exist the minds of 'superior' and 'inferior' -- superior in that a person thinks his ways are much more better than those whom he regards as inferior.

And how do u define a group work? Listening and sharing all the ideas among the group members, reach a compromise at the end, and not act like one is doing an individual work!

Sums up I concur with your last statement --- pick a group mate wisely!

Fuyu said...

~Be patient~ 稍安勿躁。 忍一时风平浪静,退一步海阔天空 =)

Vincent said...

kyh,
Thanks for your comment!I totally agree with u.yes i wont repeat that mistake again..i will be more careful!

Vincent said...

carine,
haha, i know i should be patient, but d problem is that i m hot tempered and get angry easily. Maybe i need to go for anger-management.Thanks a lot ya~

seafearer said...

Well,weather u like it or not...u need to cope up with those ppl in ur surrounding....
try to put ur foot in those ppl n see.....
as d saying goes..ppl's brain is d most mysterious.....^^
Luck is oso a major part in ur success lo...= as wad i see wif my xperience...

...PEACE>>>

Vincent said...

Seaferer,
Thanks for commenting!Yes u r right, human minds are mysterious and unfathomable. Yes, I'd like to put my foot in their face!Haha...Yes, no escaping, must cope with it.but often got frustrated, that's y i m venting my frustration here.

JJTan said...

Haha, tell me about it.

Anyway, common sense is not common for common people. It sounds familiar. Haha..

Btw, do I know the person that you are refering to?? Just curious..

JJ

Vincent said...

JJ san,
Totemo arigatou gozaimasu!!Yes, the maxim "commonsense......." comes from your mouth as well!Hohoohoh~~I think u will know whom I'm refering to since u r very observant and bright enuf to figure dat out!=p Must give face here lah..Tak boleh teruk teruk tembak orang sampai tulang pun tak tinggal.just that i m soooo dumb considering the fact that although I've quite known the history of the person but I still....But, I WONT repeat that in the future n get myself frustrated.

angeline siew said...

Totally understand your frustration...The best treatment for such people is to just ignore them, and blacklist them for subsequent assignments! In the meantime, take care then...