THIS essay is dedicated to our athletes who went to participate in the Rio Olympics. Although they could not win any medal, travelling such a long distance and participating in the competitions courageously, facing “the best and the strongest” of the world, deserve our appreciation, praise and congratulations.
They, too, underwent vigorous training, did a lot of practice under the guidance of their coaches and played their part enthusiastically in the competitions.
Now if some of them are thinking to participate in Tokyo competitions, they will have to start their preparations today. Those who win on the world stage sweat and struggle for years incessantly.
Achievers are not only persistent, they are also hard-working who believe in themselves.
There is a very popular saying among Hindi-speaking people: mann key jeetay jeet hai, aur mann key haar haar. It may convey different connotation to different people but according to my interpretation, it means that if we entertain defeatist ideas in our mind, we will definitely lose the ‘battle’ but if we continue giving it the message of success , we will certainly win it. We should have the ‘will’ to get to the top. Will power comes from faith and determination and from self-discipline and self-control.
Even in the Bible we come across such advice: Be ye transformed by renewing of your mind- Romans 12:2 and also- all things are possible to him that believeth: Mark 9: 23, and in the Sikh scripture we read that those who believe, their minds awaken to higher consciousness – Guru Nanak in Japji.
There are many examples in history to prove that strong will is the basis of all actions. Muhammad Ali (January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) American Olympic and professional boxer was one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century.
He auto-suggested to himself daily, telling himself, “I am the greatest in the world.” Even when he jumped into the boxing arena to fight against his opponent, he will say it loudly, “I am the greatest.” People nicknamed him “The Greatest.” Once after winning a fight, he said loudly, “I am the greatest. I shook up the world. I am the prettiest thing that ever lived.”
Usain Bolt of Jamaica, after winning a relay race in Rio, told the reporters, “There you go. I am the greatest. I have worked hard every Olympics to win three gold medals . . .”
When sportsmen like Muhammed Ali and Usain Bolt declare that they are the ‘greatest, are they boasting and showing inflated ego? No; such words provide them psychological boost and they mean that they are bubbling with confidence.
Mr Norman Vincent Peale ( 1898-1993) an American writer and minister once said, ” Believe you can, and you can. Belief is one of the most powerful of all problem dissolvers. When you believe that a difficulty can be overcome, you are more than half way to victory over it already.”
At another place he advises us: “Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop this picture. Never think yourself as failing; never doubt the reality of the mental image of success. The mind always tries to complete what it pictures. So always picture “success” no matter how badly things seem to be going at the moment.”
Our dreams become realities when we have a deep desire to realise them. The auto-suggestion that “I can do it,” has more power than “I should do it.” We can achieve no more than we believe we are. Belief stir power within ourselves. Much depends upon our thinking. Some wise people suggest that success begins with our will; It’s all in the state of mind. Sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he CAN.
Our rugby young men, in all the games in Rio, showed the ‘fire’ of the word CAN and in the final against Great Britain on 12/8, we could see their determination, physical strength and tactics they used and speed they ran — all such qualities resulted in a grand victory and made the whole country proud.
The coach Ben Ryan had not only trained them very hard but injected dozes of confidence into their flesh, blood and soul. There is no doubt our team proved to be the fittest and fastest and daring and dauntless.
The fact that they had won all the games gave them courage, confidence and strength. To win gold medal in the Olympics for a small country like Fiji means something fantastic and wonderful, exciting and sensational. They will do it again in Tokyo.
Our athletes who want to go to Tokyo in 2020 must develop the confidence that they will win gold. They must believe that they are the ‘greatest’ and in no way inferior to anybody.
They should be aware that every human being has immense, incredible capacities of strength, of faith, of potential achievements. They are blessed with young bodies that can stand most anything. It is their mind they have to convince.
Do not ever let anyone tell you that you cannot accomplish your goals. Believe in yourself even if no one else does. You have to move towards your destination. Those who make footprints on the sand of time are diligent and active, tireless and labourious, practical and pragmatic.
I am aware they will be thoroughly trained by their coaches but mine is a layman’s advice.
* Jogendar Singh Kanwal who writes frequently for The Fiji Times lives in Varadoli, Ba and his email address is kanwal @connect.com.fj
