Computers have gotten us used to the amazing concept of ‘Undo’ – Ctrl Z. Every time we miss-do we can undo and then redo.
Let’s look at the impact that this amazing action has on our lives.
We’ve always had our erasers or whiteners to undo our errors. Thanks to these undo devices we are braver in our doing. We just go ahead and do-undo-do till we get it right.
An easy exit makes the entry easy - An easy undo makes the do easy – at the end of the day it is about stakes. What is at stake? What / How much are we committing ourselves to? What is the value of our decision? A reversible action is an easy to take action.
Just-do-it with a pencil is always much easier than just-do-it with a pen as the just-undo-it with the latter is not that easy.
There are other undo devices we have been using for a long time. The one that works like magic, we are taught from our childhood, is called Sorry. Just utter the word and you have undone the damage…well, almost.
Post meal digestives like chooran have been used in Asian cuisine for a long time. They help us undo some of the guilt inducing binging we do. In fact they legitimize some of the binging…don’t they?
We now live almost half of our lives in the virtual world. Ctrl Z (Undo key) is our friendly neighborhood savior device here. This one device is responsible for a whole generation becoming much more entrepreneurial, adventurous and audacious as compared to the past, uninitiated-to-the-computers one. They are ‘just doing it’. And this just-do-it attitude is not even being frowned upon by the custodians of yesterday anymore - they are grudgingly tolerating it. The attitude has suddenly become the default social norm. In fact custodians of today romance it and celebrate it.
The Ctrl-Z generation looks for and finds the undo button in almost every aspect of their lives.
The society is getting used to transacting for and consuming fixes – solutions that can be undone easily. A sachet is a fix. A shampoo sachet gives you a clean-hair fix without you having to commit yourselves to a larger pack. Fixes are everywhere – functional fixes (food, drink sachets, pre-paid mobile phone recharge packs), indulgence fixes (Tequila shots, downloadable video clips). Some things that were just too sacrosanct to be messed around with haven’t been left untouched either – sachets of marriages and jobs!
Marriages: Saying ‘I do’ is easier today. It is not an irreversible step that it used to be – you can always undo it. Getting into a live-in relationship is much easier as the stakes are very low. You commit yourselves to a day (or a night) at a time. A one-night-stand is a sachet of a marriage.
Jobs: People don’t get in to stay-in anymore. They get in to get out soon, by design.
It has led to a more led-by-heart living. You don’t feel the need to justify your actions anymore. “What feels good right now, is right for me.” The ‘think before you leap’ way seems like a distant past. You don’t think too much before you click that picture on a digital camera – it can always be deleted. You don’t think too much before jumping into bed with someone – there’s always the night-after pill.
The character of the outcome of the do that we do is changing too. The pictures don’t look that deliberate and posy anymore. The newscasters don’t sport a deliberately perfect diction anymore. Even the encyclopedias don’t look deliberate and uptight anymore. Husbands, wives, sons, daughters, bosses, workers don’t seem deliberate and self-conscious in their roles anymore.
They all seem to be saying “can undo will do to our hearts content” :)
Let’s look at the impact that this amazing action has on our lives.
We’ve always had our erasers or whiteners to undo our errors. Thanks to these undo devices we are braver in our doing. We just go ahead and do-undo-do till we get it right.
An easy exit makes the entry easy - An easy undo makes the do easy – at the end of the day it is about stakes. What is at stake? What / How much are we committing ourselves to? What is the value of our decision? A reversible action is an easy to take action.
Just-do-it with a pencil is always much easier than just-do-it with a pen as the just-undo-it with the latter is not that easy.
There are other undo devices we have been using for a long time. The one that works like magic, we are taught from our childhood, is called Sorry. Just utter the word and you have undone the damage…well, almost.
Post meal digestives like chooran have been used in Asian cuisine for a long time. They help us undo some of the guilt inducing binging we do. In fact they legitimize some of the binging…don’t they?
We now live almost half of our lives in the virtual world. Ctrl Z (Undo key) is our friendly neighborhood savior device here. This one device is responsible for a whole generation becoming much more entrepreneurial, adventurous and audacious as compared to the past, uninitiated-to-the-computers one. They are ‘just doing it’. And this just-do-it attitude is not even being frowned upon by the custodians of yesterday anymore - they are grudgingly tolerating it. The attitude has suddenly become the default social norm. In fact custodians of today romance it and celebrate it.
The Ctrl-Z generation looks for and finds the undo button in almost every aspect of their lives.
The society is getting used to transacting for and consuming fixes – solutions that can be undone easily. A sachet is a fix. A shampoo sachet gives you a clean-hair fix without you having to commit yourselves to a larger pack. Fixes are everywhere – functional fixes (food, drink sachets, pre-paid mobile phone recharge packs), indulgence fixes (Tequila shots, downloadable video clips). Some things that were just too sacrosanct to be messed around with haven’t been left untouched either – sachets of marriages and jobs!
Marriages: Saying ‘I do’ is easier today. It is not an irreversible step that it used to be – you can always undo it. Getting into a live-in relationship is much easier as the stakes are very low. You commit yourselves to a day (or a night) at a time. A one-night-stand is a sachet of a marriage.
Jobs: People don’t get in to stay-in anymore. They get in to get out soon, by design.
It has led to a more led-by-heart living. You don’t feel the need to justify your actions anymore. “What feels good right now, is right for me.” The ‘think before you leap’ way seems like a distant past. You don’t think too much before you click that picture on a digital camera – it can always be deleted. You don’t think too much before jumping into bed with someone – there’s always the night-after pill.
The character of the outcome of the do that we do is changing too. The pictures don’t look that deliberate and posy anymore. The newscasters don’t sport a deliberately perfect diction anymore. Even the encyclopedias don’t look deliberate and uptight anymore. Husbands, wives, sons, daughters, bosses, workers don’t seem deliberate and self-conscious in their roles anymore.
They all seem to be saying “can undo will do to our hearts content” :)
"undo' promotes promiscuity, maybe no.Choice provides a reason to explore fredom in the current relation, or else I will feel stifled.'Undo'makes me more committed than I would be otherwise, coz I get to know myself better in diverse realtions and stay with the one that works best.
ReplyDelete'Undo ' is mainstay of extending my boundaries, exploring wide, unrelated career options, experimenting with new 'makeovers', migrating to new cities or countries. I cannot think of my life without 'undo'!
Undo may not be the sole reason for the afflictions you have stated Ranjan, one does not give up easily and quickly ( a marriage, career, freindships) coz there are options but coz one is not in sync, the heart is not in it ...so we keep trying till we hit the 'sweet spot'.Undo abets in finding the sweet spot. What say U?.
Good post. Ctrl Z. Great post.
ReplyDeleteDon't you think the Ctrl Z attitude has its own space. I feel that where the risks are lower, you may go with the attitude if not you be very cautious of a Ctrl Z.
ReplyDeleteIn business, would you ever try it out ? A hotelier would try the menu, test it with peers, friends and use a Ctrl Z attitude till the time he gets the menu right. The day he gets the menu right, he would start offering it to the customers with whom he would never try a Ctrl Z attitude.
You would offer a creative solutions to a client which you think most suits the client. You would do a Ctrl Z before the pitch, but would you dare do a ctrl Z with the client. You would go with the best creatives and convince the client on why they should chose the said route.
However point taken that Ctrl Z is an attitude which makes you more bolder, your risk taking abilities goes higher. It's a learner's attitude. I would rather have a Ctrl Z attitude so that I overcome the fear of failure.
Cheers !!
My 2 pence worth of tomatoes (Atleast the price-sensitive ones among the tribals'd buy it):
ReplyDelete(A) Ctrl Z is a sign of progress
(B) Ctrl Z helps us do more than we otherwise would
(C) Ctrl Z is yet to be able to work its magic in a huge chunk of our lives, especially where human memory is involved
(A) Ctrl Z being a sign of progress is exemplary, especially in the medical field. What were once incurable ailments are curable today. Ages ago, parents who found out about certain birth defects would perhaps abort the baby or live with a special kid. Today, science offers the luxury of not just having a special kid but also rectifying most such defects and turning it into a perfectly normal kid who is ready to live with and compete with peers its age. Advanced stages of cancer are incurable today and the cause remains unknown but who knows, a couple of years down the line, cancer may enter the Ctrl Z zone too.
(B) As Madhu rightly said, Ctrl Z provides an excellent safety net that makes one bolder and helps one overcome the fear of failure. I perhaps wouldn't've tried bungee jumping if broken bones couldn't be fixed :) Wouldn't've tried a new hair-do either if I couldn't reverse the disastrous cartoon looks in a couple of months.
(C) I lost someone who was very dear to me a couple of days back. Wish I could do a Ctrl Z and bring them back to life! On a more serious note, nothing, literally nothing, ever gets undone in the real sense. We might fix things back but it can never nullify the fact that it was once a 'done deed'.
My stint with Bharti Touchtel taught me, ironical as it may sound, U turns or Ctrl Z is a must for SUSTAINMENT of growth.
ReplyDeleteCtrl Z makes life dull. Anything that is exciting in this world is Ctrl Z free..think about it.
ReplyDelete~J
i do completly agree with Pansy, undo abets in finding the sweet spot. but on the other side an easy exit is what is letting many of us explore and soar the high skies, which we dream of. easy exit makes it easier to live your dreams even if they are not very sucessfull. but you lived it. it may turn out to be a sucess to.
ReplyDeleteWhat Ranjan is saying is that not having an exit option may make us try harder, look for perfection, make it succeed whether it is an idea, product or a relationship....
ReplyDeleteAgree to it to an extent !!and staying with an idea, product and relationship just for the sake of it ( there is no 'undo' option)may not help in any way...on the contrary may coz frustration...
staying power is only one of the ingredients for success!
Vow...very different perspective from what I understood from Ranjan. My thoughts were Undo is a childlike behaviour, no fears, do not understand the limits or the dangers..Is'nt that is required to create a fresh tomato ? An Undo is an attitude that I would love to have. Put it in a business scenario, would'nt you as a Management want to have people who would keep thinking without boundary. I guess companies like GE, Wipro have a lot of Undo professionals and that could be one of the reasons why they are so diversified in the business.
ReplyDeletePansy : I am not sure if undo makes you committed, since the commitment stems out of a non commitment too. If I dont have a fear of commitment then like Ranjan said..a live in relationship (I have a choice of an undo), you have got into a relationship with a notion of undoing it incase if it does not work out. In a marriage it would be more difficult for you to undo it unless the sweet spot
I think Undo is an attitude to drive higher, inquisite like a child, explore, dare to dream etc. However whenever fear takes over, Undo becomes ineffective. eg. A relationship or a Job which iis very close to your heart and does'nt want to loose her/job...you may do only things which would ensure that you don't loose her or the job...the Undo is just not what you want. Does'nt that talk about the mindset that you are in
Ha! Got it. Getting into a commitment knowing fully well that I can get out of it without a scratch, gives one a great sense of relief and even liberation.
ReplyDeleteSo it is safe to commit, because you don't have to stay committed - you can always change your mind. You don't need to be consistent either, because consistency may not be required and probably not considered a virtue.
This actually makes QnD easy. So what if I go wrong? So what if it is a mistake? So what if it fails are all subject to Ctrl Z!
So we can create a corporate climate which is a Ctrl Z climate. It is safe to create, it is ok to undo. But for heaven's sake do QnD.
Now I go to the famous Nike line 'Just Do it!'
Hi Madhusudan...we do agree that 'undo' is better than not having options!
ReplyDeleteFlip the idea of undo in a relationship ....I will be willing to explore only if I have an 'undo' option...infact some see marriage as 'no exit' /no undo pact and are afraid of commiting and therfore get into live in ....if both parties agree that marriage has an 'undo pact' , they will be willing to explore and discover each other.
Suicides are an extreme form of 'no undo' i.e. there is no other option but this ...whether it a debt ridden farmer, a disgruntled spouse in a marriage or someone in a wrong job. 'Undo ' is anathema to choices, innovation and creativity and to liberation!!
So right! It's not easy to will yourself to step into a dark room with no exit. Or an unknown lane at night that has a dead-end sign at the entrance. Right to choose empowers us. We want to be able to choose to enter, choose to stay and choose to leave. The control remains in our hands. An empowered person is far more self assured and far more gutsy.
ReplyDeleteHey hey...Are we confusing with empowerment vs UNDO. Empowerment is something which all of us have and we take decisions based on circumstances, it may be good decision or bad decision. This cannot be generalised as an UNDO effect.
ReplyDeleteMy definition of Undo is all about a positive frame of mind which is all full of learning, learning, undo the learning and again learn.
A suicide is not a "no undo", it is basically a state of mind which cannot be compared to an UNDO that this forum is talking about. Pansy - Marriage, so easy to put in two sentences...think beyond, if both the parties agree that marriage has an 'undo pact'...what if post 7-10 years when the couple is settled, kids and the man says Undo. Would you agree to it. If it happens, can you undo the relationship, kids ? How do you do it. Yes you had a pact but can you undo it ?? Now incase if you still take that call, Is it empowerment or an UNDO.
So we may not be able to genralise it. However the way nature has created certain organic chemistry in all of us and it ensures that our systems do not fail, the same way an UNDO is a tool which we must use it to its potential to build a strong fundamentals in the way we think. My old example hold...the biggest companies in the world would have a lot of UNDO professionals who may enjoy exploring new challenges and in turn the organisation grows horizontally.
Hey, am saying UNDO provides choices , options, opens possibilities , removes the bind ....imagine any situation, you are told you have to be with it only..whether it is your current car, your fav drink or food, a friend, a job ...you will soon start hating it ....the psychology works like that. The choice to exit allows us to take informed decisions.
ReplyDeleteSuicide happens when you stop thinking of possibilities, options ...so in a way you put yourself in a bind...a deadend
and I hope I can UNDO Ranjan!! typo in my last entry ....shld read as 'NO UNDO' is anathema....instead of UNDO is anathema....
Pansy Pansy please don't UNDO me ;)
ReplyDeleteabsolutely! incidentally, your tomato1 and tomato2 insights both reveal that an insight cannot be generalized , needs a context to be understood, applied etc.!!
ReplyDeleteoh yes Pansy...true to the T...this is exactly what I was trying to put across !!
ReplyDeleteThis concept of an Un-Do is everything that is symptomatic about our current lives. If we didn't have an Ctrl Zee button, I think we would be in deep shit :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked Madhu's point here about Ctrl Zee being used as a test pilot before the launch of something. At the same time, I think, a world without an UnDo button might be fun and definitely more riskier to live in. Imagine not being able to say that sorry! In my mind, that opens up, infinite possibilities...for everything.
Ranjan, my two pice on this tomato...cheers
Kirti