Laugh, Criticize, Accept

Pargat Sir during my B.Ed. often said us this in his lecture:  

“First people will laugh at you, then they will criticize you and finally, they will accept you. Only we need to keep on putting endeavours.”

Then our understanding was only this much that Sir did this only to motivate us.  But now I truly understand what he really meant to say us.

Every new idea looks mad at first. The world laughs because it doesn’t fit the old template. Then it criticizes, because it threatens the old template. And much later, quietly, it accepts — because the idea proved itself by staying.

I felt it first with my own ideas.

When I spoke about pessimism, people thought. “He sees the dark first.”  

When I spoke about Pessimoptimism — seeing the dark clearly, and still choosing to work in it — they laughed. “Too complicated. Just be positive or negative.”

Then came the criticism. “Impractical.”  But before Wright Brother, the concept of Aeroplane was also impractical. Isn't it? “Confusing.” “Why make a new word?”

But I kept putting this in my writing by all my endeavours and preparing my students for the worst too as life is not a bed of roses. The concept is quite simple. The optimists invented aeroplane and pessimists invented parachutes and pessimoptimists like me discovered the judicious middle path: looking at reality with rationality, and still move with dexterity.

And we need to comprehend this too that pessimism without work becomes paralysis and Optimism without eyes becomes denial.  

Slowly, the same people who laughed started asking questions. Then they started using it.

That’s the cycle Sir meant.  

Don’t fight the noise. Don’t chase acceptance.  

Keep working. The world catches up later.