Summary
The monk also had tips for young adults on how to multi-task more effective, something that most high school students are busy doing to upgrade their resumes
This monk is all smiles and jokes.
Gaur Gopal Das, however, told the GenZ there is no pressure to be happy and positive all the time. He spoke as the keynote speaker at the SIP Abacus presents admissiontree.in CONVERSATIONS 2023, partnered by Narayana Group of Schools and The Telegraph, in a city hotel on August 18.
"The pressure to be happy is creating misery. The pressure to be positive all the time is creating negativity. Such happiness is called toxic happiness. Such positivity is called toxic positivity. It is all right to be low at times. I do feel we can remain much happier if we stop taking the pressure to be happy," he said in a free-wheeling chat with Young Metro, after his session.
He also had tips for young adults on how to multi-task more effective, something that most high school students are busy doing to upgrade their resumes.
"I think what we have lost is the ability to be present in what we do. Sometimes multi-tasking takes away our ability to be present in what we do. We don't realise that when we are present, completely present, we are able to do the task quicker and more effectively," he said.
The monk, who had studied engineering and describes his childhood as a happy one, full of love, said mental health issues were of paramount importance in today's world.
Das, however, spoke strongly for digital detox. "Start by doing a digital detox, a smartphone detox. A hell lot of time is wasted there. If we spend less time on our phones we may save time and not have to do five things simultaneously. We need to reduce our distractions. So many time pockets throughout the day are wasted for nothing," he told students.
The monk also had tips for the school authorities. According to him, schools need to teach students both objective and subjective lessons, the latter being those that suit a particular student's temperament.
"One size of the coat does not fit everybody... So if you are judging everybody by an objective parameter, somebody who does not have the skillset will always think 'I am stupid and useless'. There are a few objective things that we need to learn but let there also be a lot of subjective things, that suit a student's interest and are meant for him or her. Academic subjects can remain objective, but some subjective lessons should be taught to help a student. It's not an easy thing to implement, but in principle, that's what works," he said.
The monk added that times will change as also our state of mind but the important thing is to always know how to bounce back from a downer.
Last updated on 07 Sep 2023
