Is Bangladesh ready to move upwards?

GDP growth rate for Bangladesh is at 7.9%, one of the all time highs. From a poor country, we are growing fast and getting stronger as an economy. Great news. Stronger Economy ensures survival and paves the path for excellence.

But the question is, are we ready to excel yet?

Is Bangladesh ready yet for a healthy living?

Are we ready to move upwards?

Upwards to where?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

A famous psychological theorist, Abraham Maslow created a hierarchy of human needs and pointed out that at the bottom lies the need for survival, and at the top lies the need for Esteem and self-actualization. As a person’s basic needs are met, it is much more easier for the person to reach his/her morality, creativity, respect towards oneself and carry on from there. Although the theory has been debated, challenged and modified along the time, let’s take Maslow’s theory as a reference to our thinking in this article.

So, the question becomes: according to Maslow’s theory, has Bangladesh met its ‘physiological’ and ‘safety’ needs yet, and ready to move upwards, towards ‘love/belonging’, ‘esteem’ and ‘self-actualization’?

Example of a Popular Present Scenario:

Last week, I happened to notice a social media drama about some private photos of an actress which was made public. Undebatable, a wonderful and beautiful actress, who is not just beauty but brains too. A lot of people do desire her for her skills and qualities, men and women alike.

However, I went through a post and noticed comments. The main arguments were: how she is a valedictorian, that’s why we should respect her. How she is the head of this organization and head of that charity, and this is the sole reason why we should respect her lifestyle and all. On the other hand, the counter arguments are, how she has broken the rules of religion, society and culture of Bangladesh. How a relationship between two people are unjustified in regards to the marital laws.

Nobody is asking why we are even talking about it.

If she is actually a gem in our eyes, shouldn’t we try to protect her privacy more, rather than sharing and gossiping about it?

What do you do with the things that you love? You protect them.

Let’s say a lot of people hate her. That’s why they were spreading the words, photos alike.

But what’s the point of hating somebody we don’t even know?

Valedictorian, sure. Head of this and that, sure. Social Service, sure. Photos outside norms, sure. But nobody knows what her life is about, how she grew up and what she thinks about life. We don’t know her views about the world. It is something that she is unable to show with posts, videos or photos. It’s the same for you too.

If we are actually moving upwards in Maslow’s hierarchy, I think, It’s more important to understand the balance-sheet of one’s own life than of others.

We have so much information now, that we have become experts at fantasy series, video games, sports, celebrity news — totally unaware that none of these things will teach us anything about how to listen to our friends, how to become self-disciplined and what to do with anger or grief.

I saw a news two days ago, almost 20 million of Bangladeshi’s are suffering from mental health issues.

It’s because we confuse getting better at stuff with learning how to live and how to be a good person.

We have learnt how to click the ‘share’ button, instantaneously. We are smart at operating Facebook, but we are still un-smart to feel the message we are sharing, the lives we are degrading.

At the end of our time on this planet, what expertise is going to be more valuable? Will it be our understanding of matters of how to live and die well with satisfaction, or our assumed knowledge of a celebrity who might or might not be having an affair with? Which will help your children more — your insight into happiness and meaning, or that you followed the breaking scandal every day for a week?

A wise philosopher Seneca once said, ‘there is nothing harder to learn than how to live.’ And I believe, he means that including how to behave towards others and empathize with other problems. Forget about acing tests, climbing the career ladder, or learning everything about digital economy — what’s the point of winning at those things but losing in the game of being a good friend, father, mother, brother or sister? What’s the point of scrutinizing and abashing someone’s life who we have no idea about? There is definitely time and space for learning skills, but not at the cost of improving as a person.

So many things are happening around us at the same time, life is too complex to even judge our own mother, let alone others. The only way to be mentally stable is to be grateful to what others do for us.

Let’s actually use this understanding and set the right priorities and make sure we invest our life into truly what matters.

Lets not envy the colleagues who shine bright at the office, as their success comes at the cost of life. The father who puts in eighty hours a week might be a hero at work, but he probably neglects his wife, children and health. Let’s not waste our time sharing, debating and goissiping about other’s lives, whereas, there are so many things in our lives we have to deal with and get better at.

Lets get better at what matters. A healthy living. Lets learn how to deal with depressive thoughts, how to be good listeners, how to stay calm in the face of adversity, how to become a good spouse, parent and friend. Lets learn technology, but not at the expense of another life. Education without technology can suffice, but technology without education is a disaster. We cannot let ourselves drag into that.

Lets focus onto our inward transformation that nobody knows about. It is something that we are unable to show on facebook with posts, videos or photos. Its much more than the superficial outward transformation. Who we truly are inwardly is way more important than who people believe us to be. Lets focus on the actress’s acting, because that is what she is most interested to share with us.

Lets focus on us what we are interested to share. Are we actually interested to gossip about her? share photos about her? Or anyone? Let’s pause for a while, and really think this through. Are we ready to move upwards?

Our most valuable asset is our character. Lets guide ourselves to a healthy living.