Showing posts with label fears of aging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fears of aging. Show all posts

Saturday, November 2, 2013

MY NUMBER IS BIGGER THAN YOURS



‘Do we look like age mates?’
‘You have no respect for elders.’
‘Look at this little girl addressing me like her mate.’
‘Do you know how old I am?’
‘I am your senior and you don’t talk to me that way.’
'My youngest sister is older than you.'

 Have you had any of the above said to your face before or maybe you were the speaker? Seriously, does the age thing really matter?
  You work in an office and you are all equals, colleagues but maybe unfortunately for you, you are the youngest. You would see how you’d be treated in that office. They’d treat you like the baby. The bulk of the job is dropped on your desk. When they have discussions your point of view will not be counted. If you know something on the job more than they do and you let them know it, they remind you of your age. It doesn’t matter if you were trying to help. It doesn’t happen everywhere but if sadly for you, you come in contact with people who have low self esteem and feel insecure with themselves; your age which is younger than theirs only reminds them. They feel insulted and angry not with themselves but with you for trying to rub shoulders with them and doing the same job they do at your age. They treat you like the enemy.
  It’s not right to bring up the age matter. The person, no matter how young, is not your sibling.  You don’t demand they respect you for your age. It’s their prerogative not yours. I know people would start with the 'we are Africans' mantra. Yeah, great, respect yourself and that young person and they will accord you your respect. You see supposed older people that because of your age accord you no single atom of respect, they belittle you and yet they want you to give them respect, if possible kneel down and kiss their feet. Don’t you see something wrong with that picture? It’s more annoying when you all are colleagues or you are their boss or you don’t know them from Adam.  You can’t say your mind to them and everything you do is evaluated with should someone beneath me tell me such things.
  If you feel the younger person disrespects you, ask yourself why? That you got into the world first doesn’t make you more knowledgeable nor does it make you perfect or better. People lose out on so much by looking at people through their age. If the person is a colleague and you resent them or their youthfulness, check yourself. It’s not their fault that you are colleagues. They didn’t place you at the level you are. It should even be a wake-up call to you to do better and not for you to rub it in their faces like it's a big deal.
  You make yourself the fool every time and anytime you use any of the above line. You don’t force people to respect you. You don’t force people to listen to you. Hey, I’m not referring to parents here. Ok, though sometimes they may be wrong but those ones we certainly owe them that respect. You could have been aborted or thrown away.
  If your number looks bigger it doesn’t automatically grant you all the knowledge in the world and the Wisdom of Solomon. Sometimes, you have to bring yourself down and be humble, it’s in that you find respect. You are not a walking encyclopaedia. You don’t know what you can gain or learn from that supposed stupid young person. Leave your numbers behind and bring yourself out and be open. We just use numbers to shield ourselves and cover our fears and insecurities.  How big is your number? Do you carry it around with you and let it weigh you down? Is your number bigger than mine? Does it matter to you?
http://francesbox.blogspot.com/2011/05/age-factor.html