Endure pain to gain in sport & life

Pain & Passion

Pain is as inevitable as rough patches in our lives. Whether its love, war, business, sports etc, a lot of physical and mental suffering has to be undergone in order to come out triumphant. The word ‘Passion’ has been formed from the Latin word ‘Passio’ which actually means ‘suffering’. Passion sometimes is confused with pursuit of object/person of interest. From the above meaning derived from the Latin word root, one can deduce that passion is something for which one is willing to undergo high amount of suffering & agony which is undesirable for a section of people who either have an easy life or aren’t accustomed to sacrifice & willing to go the distance. But champions are made of such steely stuff which is borne out of their resolve, belief, conviction and suffering which they are willing to go through. Success is a function of various factors such as talent (skill), perspiration, motivation, grit etc. But without ‘grit & motivation’ i.e. ‘passion’ one can’t reach unprecedented heights in his/her field.

There are many champions who have reached zenith in their professional lives by conquering their inner demons. In sports world, there are countless such champions. Let me share some of these stories of true grit and passion shown by these mentally tough as nails and highly motivated gentlemen.

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal

Regarded as the ‘King of Clay’, Rafa is equally admired by his opponents and fans for his relentless style of play. Classical serve & volley style lovers and Federer fans mock him for the lack of artistry in his game . But its the mental makeup that makes Rafa ‘The King of Pain’ Nadal such a special champ. From career threatening knee and back injuries and remaining outside professional tennis circuit for 7 months, Rafa won 2 grand slams, 5 Masters 1000 titles & defeated world number one Novak Djokovic on multiple occasions in 2013. Nadal’s incredible comeback can be attributed to his positive mind-set, perseverance and his willingness to put in the hard work required to return to full strength. He even ended up altering his natural game against Djokovic. Such was the magnitude of his ambition & conviction.

Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda, the renowned F1 legend on whose rivalry with James Hunt, another F1 champion, the Hollywood flick ‘Rush’ had been made, is a champion of substance who defied all logic by participating in a race just weeks after he had undergone a skin graft operation, for a critical injury that left his face and skin burnt. His will and determination to go all the way despite of acute pain and imperfect vision was born out of his burning desire to save his world championship title . Though James Hunt won the championship title that year, Niki by virtue of his sustained and disciplined lifestyle became champion next year and for many years to come. As in this case, pain sometimes can be therapeutic.

Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith & Anil Kumble

Who can forget the heroics of Graeme Smith, who batted injured (batted one- handed) to save his nation from losing the test match against the mighty Aussies who had a pace attack that included the likes of Mitchell Johnson. From being made captain at the age of 23 while having played just a handful of test matches, it was Graeme’s feisty attitude and his performances that earned him praises from critics, teammates & fans alike. His retirement has now left a giant hole in terms of his vast leadership experience of 100+ test matches and influence on the South African team.

Anil Kumble, on the other hand came out to bowl with a broken jaw . By his own admission, he wanted to bowl because he would have been unable to sleep had he not attempted to win the match for his team.

The above players though were unsuccessful in their endeavours withstood pain which speaks volumes about their commitment and passion towards the game and their team. To add to it these are the same gentlemen who helped in chasing down the record ODI target of 434 runs & pick up all 10 wickets in an innings respectively.

Passion thus drives people to achieve the unthinkable in their lives.

Conclusion

The above anecdotes that I have shared are not romanticised pieces of fiction, but are the real stories of people who went beyond the usual and were willing to stretch themselves. I understand there is an alternate school of thought that believes in living life for the moment and to love, laugh and live no matter what may come. But such an attitude without endurance and resilience may find one wanting during not so good times. When the going gets tough, it’s only the tougher ones who get going. Even Charles Darwin would agree with me on this occasion. My intention has not been to glorify pain but to add a perspective to the jigsaw puzzle of our life. The fact is that ability to endure pain, pressure, frustrations etc. is as much essential as to be happy & ‘project’ oneself as a humble, friendly and a social person.

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”? Oprah Winfrey