Winning the Inner Game

Anonymous

 

 The outer game is what we see on the surface. The inner game is infinitely more complex; and here are four ways to help you master it.

One of the most uplifting films in the past six months that I have watched must be Bhaag Milkha Bhaag or ‘Run, Milkha, Run’—a Bollywood biopic that’s regarded as a box-office and critical hit. Director Rakeysh Mehra’s treatment of the life of one of India’s greatest athletes is not novel, but the production quality, pacing and characterizations made this film an outstanding one for me. More pertinently, the crux of the film and on which the narrative lay, was Milkha’s failure in the Rome Olympics, as well as his refusal to run in Pakistan in the Indo-Pak friendship games after that failure. The plot reveals both his phobia of returning to Pakistan, having witnessed the killing of family members in the Partition in 1947, as well as his failure in Rome from a tactical error.

Watching this movie shortly after my ski trip to Japan recently, I could not help explore the importance of winning the inner game; in order to win the outer game. The outer game is what we see on the surface of life and manifested by a variety of means, which include but are not limited to honours, medals, winning races, and other such physical symbols of achievement and success. The inner game is infinitely more complex; and here are just four ways to help you master it.

After skiing to a reasonable standard in 1990 I spent a grand total of three days thereafter, skiing—and those three days were spread across 24 years. So saying I was a bit ‘rusty’ would be an understatement when I went to Japan to have a four-day ski trip. Skiing is a gravity sport which I enjoy but am not very good at. Again, the outer game of skiing looks simple—you strap on some composite material planks on your feet and you control your descent down mountain slopes. On videos and photos, it all looks so easy and elegant. In reality, you experience sudden stops, falls, even what we call ‘wipe-outs’ where you tumble in an eggbeater fashion throwing up a lot of snow and usually losing a ski in the process. Unlike running, it is also counter-intuitive.

After a painful first day of bumps and falls and the regaining of some technique and pride, I hired a ski instructor on the second day for two hours to improve my technique—my first actual formal ski lesson in my life.

Within minutes, he could see what I needed to do: place more weight on my toes and the front of the skis, and, to ski wider turns to create more controllable turns. Within an hour, I was skiing a 100 per cent better. In the same afternoon and on my own, I went and skied technically harder runs, without a single fall.

Here are some thoughts about winning the inner game that may well apply broadly to many readers here:
1) Learn to unlearn, in order to improve—as in skiing, we have to consider unlearning bad habits; made harder if the behaviours seem intuitively comfortable and productive. In the film, and possibly a true recreation of an incident, Milkha had to stop running barefoot if he was to get faster as a sprinter; something the village-raised man found hard to do.

2) It’s never too late to clear the past—I had to learn how to forget how good I used to be, in order to learn how to ski within my present constraints which now include having a disabled right leg. In the film Milkha is shown to be fighting his inner demons from his childhood, and only the complete focus on the Indo-Pak games, and the will to overcome these perceived fears, allowed him to succeed and beat his arch rival.

3) Get help if you need it—Being an experienced expedition mountaineer and skier in the past thus in no way discouraged me from having my first formal lesson in skiing when I needed one. Very much like the people who hire me observe your habits, both the good and unproductive ones. By being open to coaching, we can confront and overcome many of our inner game demons. Coaching by far, and as proven by several studies beginning with the Manchester Inc. in 2001 shows a 600 per cent return-on-investment on coaching. This is supported by findings at Xerox that suggest that without effective coaching, less than two per cent of what is learned is actively transferred to the workplace.

4) Learn to fall—Unless you are willing to fail and learn how do something better the next time, you’re not ready to be as successful as you deserve to be. In skiing, falling means you’re willing to push the envelope of your skills, make mistakes, and with focus, return to the mountains and succeed again. Learning to fall also means, you’ve prepared a way, a technique, in advance of a fall, so that each fall will not be fatal or very harmful. Once again, it’s winning the inner game that wins you the outer game.
Coaching

20 Ways to Get Mentally Tough in Life.!!!!

1. When you face a setback, think of it as a defining moment that will lead to a future accomplishment.
2. When you encounter adversity, remember, the best don’t just face adversity; they embrace it, knowing it’s not a dead end but a detour to something greater and better.
3. When you face negative people, know that the key to life is to stay positive in the face of negativity, not in the absence of it. After all, everyone will have to overcome negativity to define themselves and create their success.
4. When you face the naysayer’s, remember the people who believed in you and spoke positive words to you.
5. When you face critics, remember to tune them out and focus only on being the best you can be.
6. When you wake up in the morning, take a morning walk of gratitude and prayer. It will create a fertile mind ready for success.
7. When you fear, trust. Let your faith be greater than your doubt.
8. When you fail, find the lesson in it, and then recall a time when you have succeeded.
9. When you head into battle, visualize success.
10. When you are thinking about the past or worrying about the future, instead focus your energy on the present moment. The now is where your power is the greatest.
11. When you want to complain, instead identify a solution.
12. When your own self-doubt crowds your mind, weed it and replace it with positive thoughts and positive self-talk.
13. When you feel distracted, focus on your breathing, observe your surroundings, clear your mind, and get into The Zone. The Zone is not a random event. It can be created.
14. When you feel all is impossible, know that with God all things are possible.
15. When you feel alone, think of all the people who have helped you along the way and who love and support you now.
16. When you feel lost, pray for guidance.
17. When you are tired and drained, remember to never, never, never give up. Finish Strong in everything you do.
18. When you feel like you can’t do it, know that you can do all things through God who gives you strength.
19. When you feel like your situation is beyond your control, pray and surrender. Focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t.
20. When you’re in a high-pressure situation and the game is on the line, and everyone is watching you, remember to smile, have fun, and enjoy it. Life is short; you only live once. You have nothing to lose. Seize the moment.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni- An Inspiration On and Off the Field...!!!

10 Lessons from Dhoni’s Leadership

Dhoni gives the following Leadership tips for every aspiring Leader –

1. One should be a performer and demonstrate the same to our team. Performance is itself the most effective communication.
2. Leader has to be humble in a way and consider himself part and parcel of the team and not above the team.
3. Give genuine respect and trust to the team members.
4. Allow them to experiment and take risk.
5. In case of failure, encourage him / her to introspect and do it next time with more vigor and better planning.
6. Make everyone in the team feel that, even though we are leaders, we are just one among them.
7. We should also believe in the ones who failed in the Team. At crucial times a team member who was not able to deliver might do miracles.
8. As a leader, be calm in extreme situations and lead the team from front.
9. Share the credit of success with your team members and praise them in public.
10. Above all believe in every member in the team.

Listed below are a few more instances of his leadership style – 

When Ganguly was playing his last match, as a gesture of respect, Dhoni asked Ganguly to take charge of the team when the ninth Aussie wicket fell. Whenever he has an opportunity, he showers his players with praises.

If you notice, instead of pressing teammates to win, Dhoni tells them to just enjoy the game. Also, he has mentioned at several forums that he believes to live in the present and not worry about future or past. Dhoni’s leadership style represents teamwork, empowerment and confidence.

Dhoni utilizes every team member at his disposal and brings out the best performance whether he is a senior or junior player. He provides opportunity for every team member to prove themselves and contribute to the best of their abilities.

Remember, he gave the last over to Joginder Sharma who doesn’t have much of a track record., By putting such a person in front of a challenging task, it tells the person that the leader has confidence in his abilities and will be fired up to put in 120 per cent. This happened with Joginder Sharma in two critical matches, where he was hit all around the ground and still given the last over. He delivered on both instances!

Another learning from Dhoni is about, Optimal utilization of resources, which is vital for any business. Instead of giving excuses for lack of best resources, it is better to perform in whatever resources a leader has to his disposal.

When team members see their leader calm in extreme situations, they will not be rattled. It will enable them to focus on their work and do what is expected of them. Dhoni is always calm – whether the bowler started off the last over in the finals with a wide ball or the batsman played a series of dot balls in a slog over.

Dhoni’s Inspiring Quotes –

• I think what’s very important for me is man management. Everyone is very different, with different temperaments. Sachin is as important to me as everyone else in the team. Everyone has a role to play. Man management is the most important factor, and along with this, the team spirit. However, what matters in the end, is the unity in diversity of thinking, which is needed for the entire team to succeed on the field as one.


• “I never predict what will happen in cricket. We believe in each other and we believe in the process. We will take each game in the right frame of mind.”


• “We are not thinking about what may happen if we achieve or what may happen if we don’t succeed because those two things are beyond our control. So rather than thinking about something that’s too much ahead of us it is very important to take every game in the right frame of mind and that is what will be our process throughout the tournament.”


• “We didn’t rely on one specific individual, everybody contributed. Each and every batsman scored at some point in the series and the same applies to the bowlers also.”

In a nutshell Dhoni’s story is all about an ordinary man doing extraordinary things and a role model for every aspiring leader. Each one of us could use this model, pattern and design to create our leadership journey.