The perks of being a bachelor

Mumbai: What do Da Vinci, Newton, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Ratan Tata, Salman Khan and the fictional Sherlock Holmes have in common? They were/are all bachelors who have been/ are hugely successful in their professional fields. The new PM, Narendra Modi, has also led the life of a bachelor though he did get married early on in life. We analyse if being a bachelor gives a man an edge in his professional career.

Innumerable married people have found success in their careers but when someone is driven by a mission, love/marriage can derail the plans. Additional responsibility of starting a family, however joyful it may be, can affects someone’s dedication at work. People who retain a similar focus post marriage at work can burn out from stress or worse, the after effects of being stressed could begin to spill onto the marriage.

“When you are not married, it obviously gives you an edge because you have to only worry about yourself and this helps you to continue to focus on your professional career. Staying bachelor isn’t a necessary yardstick for success but for focused individuals with well defined goals, staying unmarried can help them stay on the right track as far as career growth is concerned,” says Yuvraj. P, an economic analyst and bachelor from Chennai.

Actress Raai Laxmi concurs that bachelors do have the edge, “It’s more to do with freedom. You don’t have any responsibility so you can focus on your career. You are answerable to your partner when you are married so bachelors do have the advantage on the professional front.”

Marriage doesn’t really weigh you down in anyway but your priorities change and one starts aligning goals in terms of their personal life. One tends to find more happiness in family life and often want to settle down rather than chase professional dreams.

Not all agree, however. Fashion designer Sreejith Jeevan believes marriage doesn’t necessarily have to be a hindrance to one’s career or dreams. “If your partner understands your passion and both work together towards the same dream, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Psychologist Arundhati Swamy believes it can be an advantage. “Bachelors have a singular focus and with no commitments they can move up the ladder at work. Pursuing dreams post marriage with unaccommodating partners can lead to conflict,” adds Arundhati. “It could lead to a breakdown in relationship, it is also one of the reasons why many forgo their dreams in such relationships.”

Mention the term sacrifice and she responds, “I wouldn’t call marriage a sacrifice but rather a change in priorities. Marriage changes what you value.”

Nikola Tesla, considered one of the greatest minds in the world of science, never married because he thought personal relationships would interfere with his work. He made great strides professionally though there is a theory Edison took most of the credit for the former’s work by patenting them.

Nevertheless, Tesla in his later years regretted not marrying saying, “Sometimes I feel that by not marrying, I made too great a sacrifice to my work.”