We can all try to up our game – that’s admirable, says Peter Sherwood. But at the end of the day, we are who we are
PHOTO COURTESY OF Adobe Stock
We can all try to up our game – that’s admirable, says Peter Sherwood. But at the end of the day, we are who we are
PHOTO COURTESY OF Adobe Stock
Stick with me, I’ll get to the point eventually. For three years I walked past a tennis court where twice a week the coach worked with a bloke whose style was as arthritic as the Chinese National People’s Congress, and no matter the pleading instructions from the opposite end, most shots ended up robotically in the bottom of the net. Or the back fence. Here was accuracy worthy of a champion – if only the persistent problem of direction could be overcome.
Thousands of hours pounding tennis balls and the improvement hurdle was a Sydney Harbour Bridge too far. Lessons aren’t cheap and that’s a lot of loot for being right about something you already know. Coach shouts instructions, bloke reliably whacks the intruding net. Finally, money is exchanged, everyone seems happy, while coach goes off to see his therapist on matters of preventable suicide, and to try for a discount introducing his statuesque star pupil. (If Wimbledon is the destination, I can recommend the number 44 bus from Central London). Where am I going with this? Off on another tangent.
A friend I’ll call Barry to protect his identity (his real name is Richard) who worked for the same company for five years was notoriously underpaid and when bonus time came around suffered from MMGS: Mysteriously Moving Goalposts Syndrome – until he found a job in Europe. Soon his wealthy former boss came crawling, offering a return to the fold at double his former salary. So, after being royally ripped-off, Barry accepted.
He’s pretty happy and he shouldn’t be. Here’s why: people don’t change; we are who we are. If I can mistreat you for years, then my integrity could use a little work. And I’m guaranteed to do it again. Am I willing to pay you massively more because I now realise your true value? No, I always knew your worth. Eventually, I will repeat the tawdry per formance to show you how reptilian I really am because you didn’t get it the first time.
Now, to the point – and you can take this to the bank. For a true picture of where we are in life, I believe we should examine our results. Results don’t lie. Everything else is fantasy or wishful thinking. Based on results my talented and dedicated friend was cheated, and by the same enduring universal truth he will be burned again. Then he’ll be back in Europe star ting over. Yes, there is an argument for even the worst among us gaining increased awareness, but new personal insights are just that “from within” – internal from the same scoundrel.
And I’m reminded that awareness plus 35 dollars will get you a cappuccino. The 5% of the iceberg (read human consciousness) above the water might well be expanded to 10, but it remains the same chunk of ice. In other words, Putin is unlikely to go from KGB thug to Nobel Peace Prize winner, and there are few bets on Donald Trump and the truth falling in love any time soon. As for the tennis bloke, try hitting against a wall, it’s cheaper.
Peter Sherwood has lived in DB for 20+ years. The former head of an international public relations firm, he is the author of 15 books and has written around 400 satirical columns for the South China Morning Post.