So, there is this game 'Wordle' which has become a rage on Social media. I suppose you know how it goes but, just in case you time-traveled from the medieval ages, you are supposed to find out a 5 letter word in six guesses. When you type in your first guess, you'll get to know which of the letters in that word are also there in the word you are supposed to guess; and the letters which are also in the same POSITION will be specifically indicated in green. So, you keep typing further words till you hit on the right word. IF you can do it within 6 guesses.
Now, on one occasion, I type in my first guess, that IS the right word and I am hailed a 'Genius' by the app. Genius? I just started out on a happy dance and faltered after a couple of steps. No, not just because I dance like a hippo with two...err...four left feet, true though that is. It is just that an awkward thought crossed my mind.
Exactly what was the nature of my genius? I mean, really, had I used some extraordinary analytical skills or some creative out-of-the-box thinking to get an unknown 5-letter word right with my very first guess? In which case, could I do it over and over again? Seemed to me that my genius was about the same as the genius of the guy who won a lottery the first time he bought a ticket...unless the App thought I had a genius for mind-reading.
But, then, when you judge by results alone, caring two hoots for the process...Well, you know that every winner won exclusively because of his ability and effort; and every loser lost only because of bad luck. About the first thing to eliminate in your lexicon, once you are a winner, is the word 'luck'. And, perhaps, substitute it with 'genius' as the App did for me.
But, then, assuming genius based on results is not the only thing in which we misjudge. Take that hoary old joke.
"He became a millionaire in two years."
"How did he manage that?"
"Two years back he inherited a billion when his father died."
It takes a rare kind of...err...genius to consider it an achievement on the part of the person to reduce a billion to a million in two years. But what we readily understand about money we cannot as easily understand about abilities. (Which is probably why we find it so easy to assess success only based on wealth but that is a topic for another day.)
I mean, take a person with natural talent or ability, genius if you will, for something. If he does something that most people cannot do but, for him, it comes naturally. You hail him for his achievement. In the context of society as a whole, it IS, perhaps. But is it a personal achievement? Or is it like being a millionaire when you started out with a billion, just because YOU yourself cannot think of becoming a millionaire?
A personal achievement is something that you DO with your talent - by honing it, applying it and stretching its uses beyond what you originally thought you could do with it. If, say, you started out being able to run a 100m race in, say, 9.5 seconds, doing just that is not a personal achievement. Paring that time down...THAT is!
Do achievements automatically make your character great? Perhaps...but more often than not, not! Character lies in how you handle your achievements and the results thereof. How grounded you remain, how determined in the face of obstacles and the ups and downs of life, how empathetic. It is easier to keep honing your talent when you continue to succeed; to keep doing that when failure dogs you...THAT is tough! For THAT is when the word 'luck' enters your lexicon and you start feeling that there is no point persisting because 'luck is against you'.
I will take that 'genius' from that App, though. I mean, like most of us who neither have that 1% inspiration nor are willing to shed that 99% perspiration, this is about the ONLY way I'm going to get called a genius.
