Greed

How negative attitudes like greed are self-defeating can be seen in one of my recent experiences.

One of my friends was stuck up in his job and was eagerly looking out for a change. I helped him with fixing an interview with one of my previous employers. I was sure that he would get through and I assured him of a positive result in order to boost him up. Now when this guy saw something coming up to him, he showed some hidden traits. First, he increased his ‘expected salary’ to a level to match ‘my’ own present salary (perhaps showing envy to me). While doing this, he forgot that his educational/professional credentials never matched mine and hence his expectation was unjustified. Secondly, he cooked up his present salary to a very high level in order to justify the demanded jump. When I heard what he salary he had demanded in the interview, I was disappointed because I knew the company could never afford this salary for the open position. The result: even after renegotiating for several months, he didn’t get selected. And he has not got any further opportunities so far. The lost opportunity costed him dearly, and he was left in a frustrating condition. And after this experience I too would never help him again.

If only he could have been realistic – which was possible only if he didn’t possess greed – today he would be in a much contented position.

- Rahul