"No, dear. I don't mind you hurting me. You didn't do it intentionally, right? So what, if you don't love me! I'll do whatever I can to get you and the one you love, together," he says. She looks at him with a mixture of gratitude, empathy, and (without any euphemism) pity! He, the protagonist, soaks up all the pain, puts up a constant happy face in front of her, and does everything to make her happy, and to get her to meet her "One". And guess what, as time passes, she forgets the "One", and instead falls in love with our protagonist. He becomes the "One", all due to his goodness, his genuineness, his true love (come on, you know all this hooplah. I'm not going to type it all!) And what a great story it is! Hurraah, for the protagonist!
And now I get back to you and me (come on, very trim chance of you having story as above! and me - well, that's what this post is all about!). The virtual reality around us is filled with such near-humans. Turn on any Prime-Time television show, start reading a book, and there they are, staring right in our faces, silently ridiculing us.
And hey, most of us do try to imitate them at some level. And this is the core of this post. This is the thing that has educated some, devastated some others, and blessed so very few. This is the problem. This, is the Protagonist Problem.
We see these happy endings, and we think, 'hey, I can do that. I can be the nicest guy ever, and I'll receive the same treatment from her. I'll be able to win her back, and we'll live happily ever after.' And then we try to be the best that we can be. Here on, there are some possibilities.
And now I get back to you and me (come on, very trim chance of you having story as above! and me - well, that's what this post is all about!). The virtual reality around us is filled with such near-humans. Turn on any Prime-Time television show, start reading a book, and there they are, staring right in our faces, silently ridiculing us.
And hey, most of us do try to imitate them at some level. And this is the core of this post. This is the thing that has educated some, devastated some others, and blessed so very few. This is the problem. This, is the Protagonist Problem.
We see these happy endings, and we think, 'hey, I can do that. I can be the nicest guy ever, and I'll receive the same treatment from her. I'll be able to win her back, and we'll live happily ever after.' And then we try to be the best that we can be. Here on, there are some possibilities.
- We, to varying extent, are successful in replicating the protagonist, in essence. We do things selflessly, we put others' priorities ahead of ours. Only, they are not enough. They are taken for granted. We end up being friend-zoned, or worse, 'brother'. "Popppaattt...!!!"
- We play the role of the protagonist, perfectly. And then we get the shock of life - she, says in her mind, 'what a loser! I'll bear with him till I have to, and then chuck him like I did with my shoes the other day. Even they were 2 months old!'
- Basically, we suck. "She" is living in the same virtual reality, watching the same protagonists. And thus, as if it was the order of the day since time immemorial, she expects us to be like the Protagonist. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, we cannot do the things the protagonist does. We are simply not capable of it. Au contraire to the above case, she doesn't have to call us loser. Before that, there's an inner voice, that keeps saying, 'You loser! chuck all this. Look there, on the opposite corner - awesome chick!'
- If you are expecting another "Happy Ending" Bullet Point, sorry. You are heading for a disappointment.
Basically we try to change for good. We try to be as good as we can, and that raises our expectations. Yes, I can positively agree with, "What goes around comes around." However, the one important uncertain variable here is, "When." And we often want things to come around too soon. They say, patience is a virtue. I don't know about patience, but due to the almost inevitable short-term disappointment, some of us become "Patients" for sure. Let it be.
But one thing is for sure. The protagonists are here, to stay. They have been, and they will be for a long time. Whether we want them, or not. So, brace yourself. Introspect, be sure what you want to become, and be surer what you cannot become. I know pigs can fly, I haven't seen one though.
P.S. I hope you read it with a pinch of salt. Oh, and ladies, I am very good at being the protagonist, and I love to do so. Well, just in case! Who knows, who might end up reading this!
