Are we easily offended and irritated?

What I have realised over the years, whether it be based on my personal experience or on materials that I have read; is that our society that we live in have become easily offended by things that we hear, read or see.

Before, I used to put myself in tough situations so that I am able to learn to handle situations which I feel uncomfortable in. However, as I grow older, I find myself avoiding situations in which I feel uncomfortable in or where I have little to no control. I have become increasingly vexed by little things that I have no control over and because of that, even with people, I don’t particularly like uncertainties. I found myself becoming increasingly cautious and doubting everything and to some extent I began doubting the importance of anything and adopting a somewhat negative perspective on life.

But I suppose, the hectic lifestyle that I was leading made me unhappy with my life and the uncertainties that I was experiencing, further vexed me. In my mind, I saw no escape from this unhappiness and it drove me further into feeling negative about everything around me. I found myself being critical and avoiding the news mainly because it made me upset. I would shy away from people because it felt like too much of an effort to spend time with people, because while I was physically present, I was mentally absent and I continued thinking about things that I could have done differently or to ponder upon things that I should do, or paths that I should take. 

Then I thought about the people around me, especially sometimes, when I speak to people who work in customer facing roles, and how bitter they are in life (not all but some) and the fact that I have to clearly point out that I mean some folks and not all so that people don't get offended by my words. This is testimony to the sheer reality in which our society have become increasingly sensitive to any topic that is brought up today.

As much as I do think that there ought to be more structure in the things that we do and as much as I think that there are increasingly things that dissatisfy us. But, I also wonder, if it is the increasing ease in almost all our transactions that has made us almost expectant of the services that we receive. In striving to achieve operational excellence, we always say that only the first time that you go above and beyond have you exceeded expectations, every other time, it would merely mean you are meeting expectations and failing to do so, would mean that the service delivered is unsatisfactory.

Having said that I wonder if all these technology that has made everything a lot simpler, made us tune out and disconnect to real life and with people. I wonder if that’s why we increasingly have no regard for human life. So much so that a child can be raped by someone that they trust and be killed afterwards. I wonder as well, if that is why people think that deaths that happen due to a war that is happening is irrelevant as that is what happens when there is a war. I also wonder, if because of that, we don’t bother to check facts as to why these things happen and instead accept it as it is.

Let us say that we are to ignore all of those and now focus solely on how we feel on a daily basis. Are we mostly content with what we have? And if not, are the people around us making us unhappy? Sometimes, I feel so lost and almost confused because I feel like I’m doing so many things yet we are going nowhere. Equally, when you look at the news, you look at the political situations of each country and time and time again, it’s only news if there’s a bombing, or political unrest or the games, or something that some people view as significant.

People hardly smile to each other anymore and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to try and connect with people and to me, I can’t help but wonder why. And of course, there are things that deeply disturb me in regards to my situation and my pursuit of happiness, particularly in looking for a job in which I can kick-start my career. But equally, LinkedIn can sometimes be depressing, especially with the Generation Y label and how we are thought to be selfish, entitled, lazy and ignorant. But equally, the same people who asks us not to stereotype, do exactly that. I wonder sometimes what exactly I am doing wrong as I constantly speak to guidance counsellors and friends and people of influence and attend events as well as work really hard.

But I think maybe I am doing something wrong somewhere and if that is the case, I would like to know in which area. This being so that I am able to improve myself. Sometimes, I wonder, am I ignorant, selfish, entitled and all of the above? I ask myself the questions and I suppose in some ways I we all feel a certain way, but I guess I need to view myself from a third person point of view before suggesting that I am doing things right. But equally, my point is that I don’t know if this is true and would definitely like your opinion as to whether or not people these days get offended very quickly.

Till my next post. xx