Underground water is easily pumped out due to the pressure underground. When a drilling machine drills for water, it comes out with great force, throwing the water high up; creating a wonder among the onlookers. Gradually, the pressure becomes less and the water gurgles out for sometime before stopping altogether.

Pressure and performance go hand in hand.

Sumita Tah

Humans too work best under pressure. It’s the pressure at the offices, institutions, family and in the friend circles that helps us to give the best in our work. The competitive atmosphere helps in motivating us and improving our performance. Under the pressure to perform, we often give out our best, but as the pressure decreases we gurgle and placidly give our output.

Pressure squeezes effort out of winners and excuses out of losers.     

Orrin Woodward

The Covid situation has brought about the reality of our efforts in absence of pressure. During Covid moms have been forced to improve their culinary skills in the absence of eating out, and even those who are living alone are at times forced to cook up delicacies under the pressure of their tongues. This these are actions somewhat due to intrinsic pressure, which do not tell the entire story.

The real lethargic nature of humans have come to fore in the singular area of dressing. Irrespective of status or creed, almost every person who works from home, can hardly get themselves to dress up more than what is required for the web-cam. Millions of people across the globe can be seen meticulously dressed with shirts, ties, and dresses – but without changing their Bermudas, shorts or whatever they are wearing below.

Scores of students with neatly combed hair, shirts ties or whatever uniform is necessary, sit in-front-of their laptops or computers with colourful shorts or pyjamas beneath. After all, it saves the time required to change a dress; which can be better spent binging on Netflix, or chatting over the abject nature of things.

Though funny,  it isn’t something that one should to look down upon. It simply brings out the fact that we love being involved in our work and follow rules, but only where and when it is required. Therefore, Covid has taught us that pressure, after all, is not that bad; and contributes to the quality of our lives. However, pressure should be of a balanced kind and not too excessive which would definitely harm us.

Pressure has the power to create a diamond, but it has to be the “right” pressure.     

Shannon L. Alder

The ones who are under a tremendous amount of pressure now are doctors, health care workers, IT professionals and not to mention the teachers. They are performing under excessive pressure with the dividing line between home and work having melt into thin air. They are over-worked but not laid off, which is one of the worst kinds of pressure that one has to endure; other than, of course, being directly affected by the Covid virus.

For the present let us let us try to bloom in the shade of our houses as well as we can. Revel in our comfortable house-wears till the crisis passes. Let us put a little bit of pressure on our own selves and perform as best as we can evolving as superior, self-motivated beings as the outcome of the crisis. We had never dreamt at this time last year, about the radical change that was awaiting us. Let us taste, this unwelcome change in our lives, and add a different kind of experience with a different kind of pressure – to the multi-coloured pages of our lives.

Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity.     

Michael Johnson