A woodcutter used to work in a farmyard. He was quite skilled and could cut more wood than others.
Therefore his master was quite happy with him. But in a couple of months, the woodcutter realized that he was not being able to cut as much wood as before. He got upset and therefore, started working some extra hours to keep his master happy. Yet, after a few more months, he found that even those extra hours were not doing fine. Finally, the master noticed it and asked for an explanation.
'I work day and night, my master, but don't know why things are being worse every day,' answered the woodcutter in confusion.
'When was the last time you honed your axe?' asked the master.
'I didn't find time for it in a couple of months,' said the woodcutter.
'Take a break tomorrow and sharpen your tools,' ordered the master.
The woodcutter did follow the advice and guess what! He started cutting more wood from the next day.
The same story is quite relatable to our academic and professional life as well. We start going to school when we are just a toddler and keep going until we grab the ultimate certificate of graduation.
And then, we take a job and we work every day. We love to deny the truth that like the axe in the story, our brain also needs to be sharpened and taken care of. Taking a break from work and study, doing something we enjoy, spending time with friends and family can help our brain rest, relax and replenish. And we can work much better afterwards.
But we don't do that .We simply keep ourselves busy every day, every moment. Yes I know, you're going to debate with me that we have holidays each week. So, here we get deeper into the issue.
Let's talk about study first. I agree that all of our institutions have a holiday or two each week when students have no school. And it's simply expected that no school is supposed to mean no studies as well. It's simple that holidays are meant for relaxing and letting the students enjoy a period of time free of worries of classes, tests and exams. But do we really remember that?
If your answer is yes, then think why do the students have such bulk of home works for those days? Why do they have to battle with all those test papers and assignments for the upcoming week? Why their weekends and holidays are nothing but the trial of a rigorous week ahead? Things are even worse for longer vacations. The longer the vacation is, the more the homework is. Then when is the time for them to enjoy a trip or visit relatives?
Blessed were we who had our childhood in 80s or 90s. We used to have long summer vacations to be spent as wild as the summer storms! The chilling winter vacations were there to warm us up after the final exams in December. And interestingly, 'No Electricity, No study' was also a part of our random escape from everyday studies.
Contrastingly, today's kids don't realize when their exams are being over; they are not enthusiastic about being promoted to a new class. Getting new books for the new class don't excite them any way. All they do is study not even knowing what all those studies are for.
Even the extracurricular activities like painting, singing or dancing are no more a matter of pleasure and time pass. These are also serious nowadays. Kids don't do them for pleasure; they don't do them because they like them. They just do them to compete and win.
And then, as soon as the first volume of hardships and drudgeries ends up, the second phase of the tragedy turns up. Profession- we call it.
A job in our country is such a treasure to find that once you grab one, you are not going to lose it at any cost. The prolonged working hours, blood-sucking overtimes, deadly deadlines- stress of all those are indulged and served by the employees to make a boss happy or in other words, to keep the job assured for tomorrow.
And what about on holidays? No, we don't relax. We stay occupied with the pending works of the week or you attend and arrange things for the next week. We are always just a phone call apart from our workplace! We are always available! Things are rather worse for the ladies especially in Asian countries like us where domestic chores are the sole responsibility of the female members. They ultimately work kind of 24/7.
Finally and sadly, there is a time we realize we are not enjoying our works anymore; we are not being able to give our best anymore and we are not living our lives anymore.
So, we need to slow down in time. We need to realize that our brain is not a racing horse which should be whipped continuously to run faster. We need to remember that it's a delicate device which should be pampered and provided with proper breaks and adequate rests. Only then it can stay focused and work better.
Happy Living !!!
The writer is an IELTS instructor and English Language trainer
