Friday, 31 December 2021 | Dr BKS Sanjay
According to a Buddhist philosophy, our life is shaped by our mind- we become, what we think. To succeed, make more allies rather than enemies, be it people or your own brain. We must change our thinking process and behaviour to bring about a change in anything.
American psychologist BF Skinner was famous for observing that humans are no different than animals. Humans should actually be analysed as animals interacting with their environment. Like animals, humans too are basically creatures in their environment. Humans change their action according to the consequences of their and others’ behaviour.
As we know from own experience and by observing lives of others, raw intelligence doesn’t equate with success. There are many other factors which come into the success equation. Genetic intelligence is only a part of the intelligence equation, the rest is the environment, another American psychologist Carol Dweck noted.
What matters the most is having a better interaction amongst the humans. We don’t need many medical scientists and doctors but we need many social scientists and psychologists who can change human thinking and their behaviour. Behaviour is the first thing which influences the results of an interaction, irrespective of profession. Behaviour of an individual is very important to render any service. A genuine relationship or an interaction is one in which you and the other person are comfortable with each other and feel safe to speak their mind and are confident to be heard. Most of the problems can be sorted out with acceptable behaviour itself. Behaviour is defined, as an action that is observable and measurable. The observable actions are more descriptive. In psychology, behaviour consists of an organism’s external reaction to the environment. In simple words, behaviour is the range of actions by an organism with their environment. Behaviour serves two purposes- either to get something or to avoid something. It can be learnt and can be changed at any age and any stage of life, however it is easier to mould during childhood than later on. Human behaviour plays an important role in all phases of human life. The success of any person depends upon the application of the trio of behaviour, knowledge and skill. Behaviour component is nearly 80 per cent of all these three.
As far as health is concerned, personal and social responsibility can be found only with behavioural changes. A clinical research conducted by me revealed that 90 per cent of the road traffic accidents occurred due to the driver’s negligence. Seventy per cent of modern health issues are related to lifestyle changes. These all are the behavioural problems.
The human resource is the greatest resource on planet earth. We all should try to develop this resource of each other. In my opinion the behaviour, knowledge and skill of any individual are the key to success. The application of behaviour, knowledge and skill in day to day life of anyone leads to success.
In general we choose a specialist of a professional for his knowledge and skill, but in reality we choose his behaviour. In fact it is the perception about the person along with his behaviour that acts as subliminal advertisement for his knowledge and skill. Behaviour plays an important role in shaping not only our own life but others life too. Importance of behaviour comes first which is most important, followed by knowledge and skill in same order in any action. Knowledge and skill of any person can be transferred with good behaviour only.
The education sector should be given its due importance in the development of any individual, any society and any nation. It influences an individual’s behaviour, knowledge and skill which are the tripod for mobility of an individual from the lower strata to higher strata. Hence, in order to live a better and peaceful life we need to be educated. It is education which broadens our horizon. It transforms us completely by changing our mind and thoughts, thereby changing our deeds.
(A Padma Shri recipient, the author is an orthopaedic surgeon based in Dehradun. Views expressed are personal)
