<\/p>\n
We love to be noticed\u2014but preferably without being caught trying. We want to look humble. Loudly.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u2019re not wired to reject applause. But we can choose what we applaud ourselves for.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Watch a traveller at a boarding gate. The guy who elbowed his way into \u201cpriority boarding\u201d for a two-hour flight will later complain about legroom to the universe on Instagram. In the same lifetime, he\u2019ll tiptoe into a church, looking for the safest pew at the very back\u2014somewhere humility can be faked from a holy distance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then, once the lights dim and the spotlight swivels to \u201copen mic night,\u201d he clears his throat and steps right into the beam\u2014hoping the applause wipes off his contradictions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s us: human beings in perpetual tug-of-war between\u00a0status and substance<\/em>,\u00a0being seen and being meaningful<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We crave visibility like plants crave sunlight\u2014but we forget that too much sun burns.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We are all, in our own ways, scrambling for the front seat, the back seat, and the spotlight. It\u2019s not a character flaw. It\u2019s a human operating system that\u2019s about 200,000 years old, screaming for tribal validation<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n But what if we\u2019re measuring the wrong damn things?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The other day I watched a man at Starbucks spend seven minutes explaining to the barista\u2014and anyone within earshot\u2014how he likes his coffee. Not just extra hot or light foam. A full treatise. Temperature specifications. Milk-to-espresso ratios. The philosophical underpinnings of his relationship with caffeine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The barista’s name tag said “Trainee.” And I thought:\u00a0We’ve all been this guy<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maybe not about coffee. Maybe about our LinkedIn headline. Or how we angle ourselves in the Zoom grid. Or the exact moment we drop our college name into conversations (IIT\/IIM\/Harvard\u2014deployed like a surgical strike, maximum impact, minimal context).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There’s that old line that nails us all: “Everyone wants the front seat of a plane, the back seat of a Church, and the centre of attention<\/em><\/span>.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Attention<\/span><\/em>: Yes, we need it. Because,\u00a0 t<\/em>he human brain is literally wired for social recognition<\/em><\/span>. When someone validates us, our ventral striatum lights up like Diwali in Delhi. Same neural pathway as cocaine, by the way. (No wonder Instagram feels the way it does).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lets understand the flip side of it though- it’s both essential and toxic. Like salt. Like sunlight. Like your cousin’s unsolicited life advice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The sweet spot isn\u2019t in renouncing attention, nor in bingeing on it. <\/p>\n Find that patch of ground where silence commands more respect than spectacle. Where your work speaks louder than your home theatre<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can be visible\u2014for the right verbs. Strive to be\u00a0significant<\/em><\/span>, not\u00a0seen<\/em><\/span>. Impact is the only spotlight that doesn\u2019t flicker. Don\u2019t chase applause; engineer aftermath.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Everyone wants the spotlight. Few realise it melts wax.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u2019re a curious species, aren\u2019t we?<\/p>\n We crave comfort, but also sanctity. We want spotlight, but with a dimmer switch \u2014 just enough glow to make our halo visible.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Everyone wants the front seat of the plane.<\/span><\/em> <\/p>\n Everyone wants the back seat of the Church.<\/em><\/span> <\/p>\n And everyone \u2014 oh everyone \u2014 wants the centre of attention.<\/em><\/span> <\/p>\n But here\u2019s the body blow \u2014 you can\u2019t be in all three places at once. Not on any map that matters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What if the real centre of attention is\u00a0attention<\/span> itself<\/em>? Not the kind you get, but the kind you give<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you walk into a meeting \u2014 and actually\u00a0listen<\/em>.<\/span> <\/p>\n Because here\u2019s the truth no algorithm tells you: <\/p>\n Some inspiring examples to count on:-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The janitor at NASA<\/em><\/span>\u00a0who, when asked what he did, said, \u201cI\u2019m helping put a man on the moon.\u201d He wasn\u2019t in the front seat of the rocket, but history remembers his purpose.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The sound engineer<\/em><\/span>\u00a0who made Freddie Mercury\u2019<\/em><\/span>s voice echo through eternity. No camera, all craft.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The tea seller outside the Supreme Court<\/em><\/span>, who knows every lawyer by name, but never interrupts a client call. His EQ > any MBA<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The teacher who didn\u2019t have an Instagram<\/em><\/span>,<\/strong>\u00a0but whose students now run the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These aren\u2019t front seats. They\u2019re\u00a0foundations<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, what do we take away?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Redefine applause<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong>\u00a0Let it come from the mirror, not the crowd.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Curate your noise<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong>\u00a0Speak less, mean more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Trade<\/em> seats<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong>\u00a0Sit where contribution feels most uncomfortable\u2014that\u2019s where growth is boarding.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Don\u2019t chase the centre of attention<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong>\u00a0Become the axis of impact.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Be so relevant, you don\u2019t need to trend.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We love to be noticed\u2014but preferably without being caught trying. We want to look humble. Loudly. We\u2019re not wired to reject applause. But we can choose what we applaud ourselves for. Watch a traveller at a boarding gate. The guy who elbowed his way into \u201cpriority boarding\u201d for a two-hour flight will … Continue reading “Every one wants the front seat of a plane, the back seat of the Church and the centre of attention”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2370"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2371,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370\/revisions\/2371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIt\u2019s\u00a0in earning gravity<\/em><\/span>. <\/strong>When gravity replaces vanity, your presence wins even when you\u2019re not on stage.<\/p>\n
\nThe one with legroom, priority boarding, and champagne on tap. But when turbulence hits, even the pilot wishes for the aisle near the exit.<\/p>\n
\nClose enough to salvation, far enough from the sermon.
\nIt\u2019s the spiritual equivalent of \u201cseen attending.\u201d
\nGod, yes. Guilt, no thanks.<\/p>\n
\nThat magnetic midpoint between relevance and reverence.
\nWhere eyes turn, heads nod, hearts double-tap.<\/p>\n
\nWhen you show up to serve<\/em><\/span>, not just to be seen.
\nWhen you build<\/em> <\/span>something that outlasts your LinkedIn headline.<\/p>\n
\nApplause fades. Attention shifts. Algorithms forget.
\nBut\u00a0impact<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>compounds. Quietly.<\/p>\n