Is it important to try to understand people's motivations before judging their actions?

Ian Percy, an organizational psychologist and a renowned business speaker, once said, “We judge others by their behavior. We judge ourselves by our intentions.” Perhaps he was right in making this statement as most people have an inclination to judge people on the basis of their actions only. In the process of making such a judgment, these people often ignore the intentions behind those actions. What these people fail to realize is that they should judge other people in the same manner in which they judge themselves. Therefore, we should make an effort in understanding people’s motivations before judging their actions because by understanding the reasons behind people’s actions we can make a fair and sound judgment of their actions.

Aesop fable ‘The boy who cried wolf’ supplies us with a very illustrative case to understand the significance of comprehending motivations behind a person’s actions. One day, a shepherd boy, who became bored with his daily routine, started calling out ‘wolf!’ The villages heard the boy’s cries and thought that the boy might be in danger. They rushed to his rescue but found that the boy was lying for the purpose of entertainment. Next time, a wolf actually attacked the heard. The boy again cried for help. The villagers heard the boy’s cries but did not come for his help this time. In the end, the wolf ate the flock and the villagers suffered a great loss. The villagers lacked the ability to understand the motivations behind the boy’s actions and responded only to the action according to their own perception. Like in the first case, the villagers perceived the boy as honest and truthful, reacted to the boy’s action as an emergency, failed to realize that the motivation behind that action was mere entertainment. In the second case, the villagers perceived the boy as dishonest and deceitful, judged the action as an act of foolery, failed to realize that the motivation behind that action was, in fact, a real emergency. One may argue that the element of urgency may have deprived the villagers of their sense of acute judgment but even then the importance of understanding motivations behind one’s action is evident. If any villager had made an effort to understand the motivation behind the boy’s action, we would have a happy ending to this story. For instance, a wise sage decided to check if the boy was really in trouble or not. Realizing that the herd was being attacked by a wolf, he called his fellow villagers to help the boy. The boy learned his lesson and the sage was awarded prize money by the village leader.

Hence, the next time we judge someone’s actions, we should make an effort to comprehend the motivations behind the person’s actions. Looking beyond a person’s actions is what it takes to make a good judgment.

Transportation in Lahore

A Chinese proverb states “Be not afraid of going slowly; be only afraid of standing still." On the contrary, I am afraid of going slowly. In modern world, every second is invaluable. Yet moving at a snail’s pace is a routine matter on heavily congested roads in Lahore. Traffic jams and accidents are a common sight. Although, the city enjoys a rich cultural tradition, it lacks modern and methodical transport.

One of the ways to improve the transportation system is to plan the network of roads according to the projected flow of increased traffic. According to the statistics that were released by the Excise and Taxation Department, 900,000 new vehicles were registered in Lahore between 2002 and 2007 (lahorenama.wordpress.com). Owing to the increased traffic flow, some roads require expansion. For instance, Multan road and Ferozpur road can be expanded to provide more lanes for smooth traffic flow. Also, local governments are proposing a multibillion dollar large scale mass transit system in Lahore with as many as five separate lanes (Cochrane 11). This shows that forecasting flow of traffic on main routes is important for planning the expansion of roads. On the other hand, government policies in various countries are more inclined towards reducing the number of automobiles on the road rather than increasing the number of lanes. Hence, they develop public transport and encourage people to use public transport instead of privately owned vehicles. This could help improve transportation in Lahore by minimizing traffic jams. Another method to maintain a smooth flow of traffic in busy areas of Lahore is to construct parking plots. In this way, travelling automobiles can use more space on roads that was previously occupied by parked automobiles.

Likewise, underground railways or metros, when introduced in Lahore, can also play a significant in improving transportation. According to a report, underground metro train would be run in Lahore in collaboration with Iran and China (geo.tv). Since this mode of transportation is entirely located underground it encounters no obstruction in its path. In this way, it saves time and money.

Owen Davies correctly said,” The pace of progress will accelerate so that even engineers and technical managers will find it necessary to recycle back through school after no more than ten years. In particular fast-moving technologies skills will become obsolete every five years or so.” Indeed the world is developing at a fast pace and we are left far behind. However, there is always time to make improvements. Transportation is a part of whole infrastructure of the city. Without making improvements in transportation, a city cannot progress. Therefore, to make Lahore, a developed metropolis, it is necessary to make improvements in transportation.

Resources

Cochrane, Joe. “Urban Planning Laboratory.” Development Asia. Issue Jan-March 2010. Web 25 Feb 2010.