The abuse of adjectives!

How much of the news on TV is actually 'Breaking'?

How can every performance become 'Amazing'?

How can every government be the 'Worst'?

Who ever invented adjectives would surely be turning over and over in his grave!

It is so confusing to note that every single description becomes superlative. What has ever happened to the other degrees of comparision in English?

Actually, this article is targeted at myself. I just realized that I have been using adjectives left, right, and centre without actually thinking whether they are apt. The simple rule is that the sentence should stick - that's it! And not just me, everyone in sales will agree that the usage of superlatives is the most common way to go. Recently, we saw a small road side dhaba which advertised that it sold the 'Best Punjabi food in India'! There are thousands of brands which give you the 'Best value for your money! There are dozens of 'Simply the best's' around. 

Now, this usage of adjectives is not meant to be grammatically correct. It is just that it needs to be there - that's all.

Writing sales copy has become so much a part of life that everyday English also has taken the same form. A movie is either extra-ordinary or is horrendous. There is a vague 'alright' in between, and all the other adjectives can go take a hike.

The difference between synonymous words such as 'Excellent, Marvellous, Extra-ordinary, Outstanding, Superb, Stupendous, Ultimate, Amazing, Spectacular, Fabulous, Fantastic, Tremendous, Exceptional, Magnificent' and such words has become so blurred that dictionaries should consider taking off some of the words - since they anyway don't mean anything different! 

It is probably because of this merging of words that the first degree words are making a serious come back. Simple words come with a pre or a post script and they become the best adjective. Phrases like 'Seriously Good' and 'Beautiful, really!' have gained a better value than the flowery words mentioned above.

With everything becoming sensational, this can only go one way! God save us from our English!!

Why is the success rate among freelancers so low!

Freelancing has been around for a very long time, and self employed professionals have been working from home (or from some place they prefer) for hundreds of years actually.

For millions of people, the ultimate dream is to work from home. And several thousand actually take the step each week. Just try a search phrase like 'work from home' on Google and you will see billions of search results! Most of them are designed to skim money off gullible people who try getting into freelancing in a hurry - and out of a sense of desperation. But then, not all of them are bad; there are some genuinely good opportunities out there, but thanks to the search patterns, they end up on page 1,865 of Google!

There we go again! We are off track and going somewhere else. Actually, in this article, I wanted to talk about why the success rate among freelancers is so low. If one is serious about getting into a work from home (or a freelancing) position, he will get through somewhere. But most of the people who got into freelancing are either cribbing that this won't work; or have gone back to full time work once more. The reason is actually very simple and can be defined in one phrase

•  Lack of Priorities.
  

That is all.

I won't call it laziness, as that is also a result of a lack of priorities. There is a management theory called 'Carrot and Stick' which most of us must have come across some place. While working for an organization, either directly or subtly, the carrot and the stick come into play. However, while working at your convenience, you need to have the strength of character to actually put a carrot and stick for yourself. The most usual answer is 'Let's do it tomorrow - anyway I don't need to go to work'; and tomorrow never comes. The work keeps getting piled up, and the quality suffers when we aspire to do a whole bunch at one shot. Forget about the client complaining, our conscience tells us that we have done a shabby job and our self-esteem comes down one more bit. When this happens again and again, we start seeing ourself as a failure in the field, and once more out of desperation we get back into a full time job.

Now, prioritizing is not something new to us. When we worked full time, we prioritized our work ahead of everything else. The boss came up in front of wife, kids and everything actually. When we turn freelance, the first thing that comes to boil is the liberating sense of freedom. The feeling is nice, but immediately behind it are the monthly bills. With no secure paycheck to fall back on, unless we get serious from month one, things will start spiraling out of control, and the safe cushy job will beckon once more. All the dreams of freedom and independence fly out of the window, and the boss appears once more as the angel of mercy!

How do I know all of this? I have been freelancing for over 8 years now, and have gone through this cycle not once but dozens of times (I'm a little slow on catching up, you see!). If you are looking to get into freelancing, the best way would probably be to begin on the side along with your profession (Yes, it is tough, but is worth it) and then decide depending on the results.

There's lots of other things to talk about, but not now. Will talk some other day.

Kudos to all the freelancers who have struck this balance. 

Pic credit - Corbis