An Impetus to #StartANewLife

The biggest temptation to lie as children comes up owing to the dread of retribution from our parents, elders or other people in authority. Gradually with age, the propensity to lie grows stronger and stronger due to increasing fears. The sole reason of one’s inability to say the truth is due to the lack of confidence in facing the repercussions of saying the truth. In many ways, it is the elders who encourage this habit to lie by punishing excessively which in many ways discourages one from being honest.

As a growing up child, I had often given in to the urge to lie to my parents fearing a beating. But as you grow up, there arrive situations in life when one is in a moral dilemma over whether to lie or to say the truth. The desire to lie is strong but the ethical self intrudes one’s mind to say the truth.

I was faced with such a predicament when sitting for a job interview to a reputed organization this January. It was to be my first job and I had been sitting in it beaming with confidence. The selection process was competitive and there were three levels- a written round, group discussion round, and an interview round to clear before a candidate could be selected. I had reached the final round successfully and had cleared it. However, I was at this point faced with the dilemma of whether or not to hide the fact that I was a patient of epilepsy. Epilepsy being a health situation which most organizations do not want their employees to have owing to various notions and prejudices associated to the competence of an epileptic individual.

I decided to go with the truth and was frank and honest about my health situation. Much to my disbelief, I was eventually rejected. This came as a setback as I had been the sole candidate selected from our college to that particular organization. In the following two months, I attended 3 more interviews where I stood firmly for what was true. Unfortunately, as things would come to be, all of them refused. This is especially surprising one notes that I am a student of social work who had been looking for employment with NGOs ‘dedicatedly’ working towards eliminating discrimination and alleviating inequalities in society.

All the same, the last four months have been an experience, especially the first time when I mustered the courage to say the truth and stand my ground instead of choosing to lie. Altogether, they have in many ways made me stronger, more confident, and have encouraged me to #StartANewLife.

 Today I have gotten myself a place to work without having to sacrifice my honesty, and this has made me bolder than ever.

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