Why is Sport more than just Sport?

Sport builds character. Sport has many positive associations with it; preparation, self-discipline, healthy competition, a desire to excel, patriotism, the list can go on. Many a time, Sport is glue that binds groups, communities and nations. It extracts emotion from grown men with steely jaws and stiff upper lips. It can make grown men and women cry. It can make them jump for joy with the same exhilaration as a young child who rides a bicycle on two wheels for the very first time. It has the power to do that.

These are all positive.  For me, these have been the source of much joy over the years. As an avid sportsman and a follower of Sport I have had the privilege of experiencing all of the above and more through Sport. In many ways I am a product of what Sport has taught me.

For me, what makes Sport more that just Sport is something that is negative that is associated with it – loss. More than inculcating the desire to win, the desire to compete, the desire to excel, all of which are desirable traits, it provides one with what I consider the most important attribute of all – it teaches one to accept loss. As a consequence, it nurtures tenacity. To accept loss, to accept failure, not in the spirit that it is negative, but to accept in yourself a weakness, to work on it, to challenge it and overcome it.

This is an extremely important lesson since one is bound to fail, lose or be on the receiving end at some point in their life. For me what I learn on a tennis court or a cricket field is very much applicable in life. Sport has given me the gift of being able to deal with loss in all aspects of my life, accept my weaknesses, work on them and return to face the challenge.

My tryst with Sport started when my dear Grandfather gave me my first cricket bat at age 3 and my first tennis racquet at age 6. My learning to accept defeat started as my Father bowled patiently to me for hours together but always managed to get me out. He would encourage, but not take it to the extreme and let me all have it my way! He explained how I should keep at it till I get it right. I will always be grateful for those lessons as they shaped my approach to Sport and later on to Life.

Long after, a tennis Coach told me after I was no longer under his supervision – “Remember Son, if you ever coach anyone, encourage them, let them have a few points, let them have a close game, but always beat them for two reasons - firstly, because they have to respect you. Second, the moment they get the feeling that they are better than you, the teacher, the desire to learn may diminish, and anyone whose desire to learn and evolve is gone, will never be humble enough to accept defeat, and as a consequence walk away into obscurity.” I did not comprehend this at the time. How can you beat a small child and play with his confidence, I thought. I think I understand now. Beating someone while being encouraging can be one of the most powerful lessons one can impart.

To this day, my Father remains a Superhero to me, even though I think that I can beat him in most Sports now, I am still working on one – Table Tennis – he still does not give me an inch in that one. One day I will beat him, though I fear it will not be on my own accord, he may just let me have one… the only one.

At the start I said Sport builds character, but more than inculcating the desire to win, the reason it is so important, is that it teaches one to accept loss. And accepting loss is perhaps a lesson well learnt since we cannot be winners all the time. It prepares you for situations in life, where the ball might hit the net cord with match point against you and drop ever so gently on your side of the court or where you need two runs to win and the umpire’s finger goes up despite you having edged the ball onto your pads.

In the end, here is a poem by Rudyard Kipling that has been an anchor for me personally ever since I first came across it as a 14-year-old. It is called “If”.

Pay careful attention to the last four lines, these are the last lines the players read, as they walk on the Centre court at Wimbledon every year before the Final.

This is why Sport is not just Sport. It is an analogy for Life. I hope everyone is lucky enough to pursue a Sport and have a family that encourages that. It is so very important.

Extraordinarily ordinary, nonetheless, yours truly

-------------- IF… ---------------

IF you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;


If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;


If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster


And treat those two impostors just the same;


If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken


Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,


Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,


And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 


And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,


And lose, and start again at your beginnings


And never breathe a word about your loss;


If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew


To serve your turn long after they are gone,


And so hold on when there is nothing in you


Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
'

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,


if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,


If all men count with you, but none too much;


If you can fill the unforgiving minute


With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,


Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,


And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

-------------- END ---------------

Is No.2 the new No.1?

We seem to be a world obsessed with “No. 1”s. “Leadership” is used as a management buzz word, people in all walks of life are judged on it as a trait, business schools and coaches even teach it on a regular basis. I have dabbled, and this is pretty bold coming from someone who is no authority on any such issues, in entertaining the insolent thought that perhaps we are losing sight of what actually makes a leader or a No. 1.

Whether Leaders are made or born is a much-debated topic which is not to be discussed here; that is for another day perhaps. I have often wondered for a few years now, whether Leaders or No. 1s deserve the demi God status that we bestow on them and if not, what makes them look so good that we end up doing so. I will excuse myself and eliminate from this population of No. 1s spheres of individual effort such as Sportsmen, Science, and Medicine etc. where No. 1s are often the direct result of meritorious commendation. People such as No. 1 Tennis players, Nobel Prize winners, literary figures who are deemed No. 1 based on their skills that are evident, apparent and directly measurable are exempt from this discussion. I write this with those Leaders and No. 1s in mind that manage large operations & corporations, lead political parties, and start revolutions & movements. These are people who are charismatic. These are visionaries who command respect; they are visible and awe-inspiring.

The question that has troubled me is that a leader is so often the face of an effort, but the effort resides in the many people who make the machinery move; the many faces that form the nuts and bolts of the whole structure - as such, do we end up glorifying the leaders when success follows? I wonder. Every charismatic leader has a reliable “right hand man/woman” who executes. I will be so bold as to admit that the thought has crossed my mind that this right man/woman is the real leader – the one who makes the Leader look good. The leader is a visionary, the one who provides the crazy idea, the one who dares to dream. But this right hand man/woman literally takes the idea and runs with it, makes it a reality. He/she is less celebrated, less visible but quietly goes about lining up all the ducks for the revered leader.

In no way am I suggesting that the concept of the charismatic leader is redundant. Rather I do believe in and admire the courage of a visionary. All I am aiming to provoke thought for is that the right hand man/woman deserves more credit than given. He/she is the most important in the grand scheme of things.

In recent times I have come across some interesting shifts that have transformed my hunch to a conviction. Recently, I came across an interesting clip on TED that assured me that I was not entirely wrong in thinking so. I encourage you to have a look –

TED TV:         http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html

YouTube:        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg

Of course, I was not entirely convinced yet; surely there are leaders out there who are people of action, who are their own right hand man/woman. I have personally always respected, admired, aspired to be like and worked best under people who lead by example. I thought hard about what these people have that other charismatic leaders don’t stir within me. After much thought I was convinced it boiled down to one thing – humility.

Perhaps it may be fitting to say that great leaders are men/women of courage, people who dare to dream the extraordinary, who have the will to transform our world, who give birth to revolutions and who motivate us to be better, to partake in the vision to excel. However, these people need their right hand man/woman to execute and deliver. They lead us & we glorify them, celebrate them. But when a leader in humble, it transforms them from just a leader – they become their own right hand man or woman, they transcend and deliver, lead by example and truly inspire. Gandhi, Mandela comes to my mind as transcendental leaders.

More recently, my theory received a boost when, as an ardent sports fan, I came across an article in The Times of India talking about the art of “humble” leadership. I leave you with it, and urge you to think about this – do we over glorify our leaders? And real leaders often fly under the radar.

Times of India: http://www.bolegaindia.com/gossips/Dhoni_Puyol_sets_example_of_humble_leadership-gid-4131-gc-14.html (originally appeared in the Times of India on 31/05/2011)

Another article:           http://www.thee2coach.com/2011/03/the-value-of-humility/

Certainly this is a topic that can be debated over an entire lifetime and its possible never to reach any resolution. In no way do I expect a 900 word insignificant blog to solve this or convince anyone of this. My intention is to express myself and invite comment. Hope I have stirred some thought regardless of whether anyone agrees with what I have proposed or not.

Extraordinarily ordinary, nonetheless, yours truly