P T USHA SLAMS NEGATIVE MINDSET OF ATHLETES IN INDIA

Life is a great teacher. There is a way out of each and every crisis. We have to seek and find our own answers.  However there are people who refuse to learn from failure.  They blame all but themselves for the mess they alone are responsible. We can make a difference when we go beyond our strengths and outside our comfort zones. Though I am focusing on sports and sports-persons what is deliberated here applies to all spheres of life. 

I am an avid reader of the newspapers ‘The Hindu’ and ‘The Times of India’. I am quoting from them with a bit of my own thoughts.

P T Usha in ‘The Times of India’, 6^th July 2013 deliberates on why India has not produced a world class athlete in track and field events after she had called it a day.

“Today’s athletes stop at the first sign of pain”

Athletics is not easy. It is very tough on the body when you put in 100 percent effort.  Nowadays the athletes stop when they have the first sign of pain, whereas I used to continue training because I was trained to take the load. I was also mentally determined to always win. If our athletes have to win at the top level, we have to build them with a strong mindset right from when they are young.

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains however impossible, must be the truth.” Sherlock Holmes

The truth is that Indians in general are averse to stretch that extra length and they end up non achievers whatever their pursuits are. It does not preclude the strides Indians have made in the world. But we tend to remain within our comfort zones shutting our eyes to the strenuous demands a real winner would have to cope up with. The lethargy has made us the second best every where.

Notice the approach elsewhere.

The Hindu, 6^th July 2013

Wimbledon Men’s Semi Final July 5 2013

Between Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Porto

At 4 hours 44 minutes the match – that had more twists and turns than a giant cork screw - was the longest Semi Final in Wimbledon history. It was probably, as more than one expert commentator gushed, one of the finest in recent history of the game.

Together, the statistics showed that the match did not go along predicted lines. More importantly, they showed that both players were forced to play beyond their strengths and outside their comfort zones.

It was this more than anything else that made this wonderful match truly special and extra ordinary.

Believer is the achiever.  If you believe you can accomplish the goal you will achieve it.

‘The Hindu” wrote when Djokovic had lost early in his career to Federer in an epic battle.

Djokovic will go home knowing that Federer will be thinking of him, and while disappointed, the Serb should remember that defeat is a great teacher, an idea articulated beautifully in an old Michael Jordan advertisement.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career; I’ve lost almost 300 games; 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot, and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again. That is why I succeed.”

Any one can be a good winner. The sign of a great man is how you handle defeat.

Michael Jordan incidentally had not been selected to play for his School’s Basketball team when he was young.

The message is clear. It captures beautifully how we can win wherever we are.

When you have serenity within you while under tremendous stress, when you have a reserve supply of confidence when everything seems lost you will have clarity – clarity in the mind - 
amid-st the inferno. You are able to make winning decisions. The quality makes you unique, makes you a winner and makes you a champion. 

Mind you, champions are a rare breed.