Extract | The practice of restraint
In an age that worships at the altar of the I, restraint hasn't fared particularly wellbut that may change
OTHERS :
In this age of information overload, The Thinking Life: How to Thrive in The Age of Distraction is a good way to rediscover the merits of a “thinking" life. P.M. Forni dwells on the need to think through our actions and feelings, and how that would eventually improve our attention, reflection, self-control, positive thinking, creative thinking and problem-solving capacity.
Known as a civility expert, Forni is a professor at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, US, where he co-founded and now directs their Civility Initiative. He has previously written Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct and The Civility Solution. In this section, he explains how restraint and self-control play out in an increasingly interconnected world. Edited excerpts:
A Paradigm Shift: From Being Good to Feeling Good
On the positive side, virtues seem once again to be in the ascendant. Restraint may acquire—albeit under a different name—an increasingly higher profile thanks to the environmentalist concern about wasting resources and our reduced affluence. Neo-hedonism notwithstanding, it remains self-evident that no society could survive if its members did not choose—frequently and predictably—restraint over impulse. It is also self-evident that refraining from intemperate action is a primary factor in the quest of a happy life. By now we are all familiar with the notion of the world as a global village. But for many of us it took the current crisis originating in the American financial markets to give a clearer sense of the global interconnectedness and interdependence of our lives. The devastating losses on Wall Street triggered similar losses in Asia, Europe, and Australia. Soon, the pall of gloom cast over the lives of Americans was affecting billions around the world. Among the many points for reflection we can find in the world crisis of 2008, a major one is that since we are interconnected, no action of ours is without consequences for other people. And since our actions have consequences for other people—intended and unintended—we must accept that there are limits to our freedom to act. It is when we go about our everyday lives with a constant awareness of these two basic features of the human condition that we behave as ethical agents. Some limits are prescribed by the law, others are not but are important as well. Both kinds require restraint, the willingness and ability to curb our needs and desires for the sake of effective relating and connecting at our best with other people. But restraint is also at the core of a responsible attitude towards nature and the environment, which warrant respect and protection just as human beings do.
Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!