7 principles of Virat Kohli that have been the biggest influence on my adult life

UNWAVERING SELF-BELIEF THROUGH THICK AND THIN

I regard self-belief as the fuel that is needed to work 120% every day. Even the most potent of performance-enhancing drugs prescribed by your trusty drug-dealer will come up short against the power of self-belief.

Through the synergistic results of hard work and self-belief, Kohli has learnt to replace pressure with confidence. Thus, even when experiencing a poor run of form, Kohli understands that just as sometimes the good times come to a temporary halt, darkness too comes with an expiration date.

Despite proving to myself time and time again that I have the ability to conquer challenges meted out to me at work and at play, my self-belief always remained fickle. The example set by Kohli has spurred me to keep my belief-system intact even in the face of adversity.

After spending a tad over a year within Goldman's Securities Division, I began gunning for a move to the firm's crown jewel - the Investment Banking Division. Despite putting my best foot forward for months at a stretch, I just couldn't seem to catch a break. Instead of calling it quits on my pursuit, I continued to keep at it. Armed with the confidence that stems from sound preparation, I believed that it was only a matter of time before my honest efforts would pay off.

My former self would have ended the pursuit prematurely and attributed the unfavourable outcome to a lack of merit. My Virat-inspired self-understood the magnitude of the challenge that breaking into Banking entailed. Instead of undermining my merit, I believed that there were other factors at play, behind the scenes, that were beyond my control. Thus, the best I could do was to diligently focus on what was within my control i.e. to labour and to wait.

The efforts came to fruition in spectacular fashion when I was extended an offer in late 2017. This further corroborated my view that ability and self-belief make for a truly lethal combination. [ 1 ]

[ 1 ] Ability is achieved through deliberate practice and habit. Habit, as described by Stephen Covey, is "the intersection of knowledge (what to do), skill (how to do), and desire (want to do)".