‘No Balls’ and ‘Rally Catches’ of Life

Life is so full of surprises like the match between India and West Indies.

1. When the beginning is good, we start believing that well begun is half done. This is good in theory but it might teach you to not be so sure of yourself till the end.

2. Anyone can go wrong: The very dependable Indian off Spinner R. Ashwin has a remarkable track record that he has not been penalised for a ‘no ball’ in Test Cricket, something only 19 other players have done in Test Cricket.

But he overstepped in a T20 match and his ‘no ball’ changed the course of the match.

3. Success is incidental: The talented and young Jasprit Bumrah must have learnt the lesson well today. He taught us that earning a catch is not enough. Our success depends upon many factors. Which are not in our control. Should we take ourselves that seriously then?

4. Repeating a mistake is a crime: Ashwin oversteps and delivers a ‘no ball’. After few minutes, Hardik Pandya does the same. Repeating the same mistake is not acceptable and the sooner we learn this lesson, the better it is.

5. Some things are not meant to be: ‘Positive Acceptance’ is a deep learning out of the incidents that happened during the match.

It is rare to miss two ‘catch out’ players on ‘no balls.’ As if this was not enough, Jadeja and Virat tried their level best to catch the ball but Jadeja foot touched the boundary.

A would be catch transformed into a six, we need to read between the lines.

We must factor in the divine will. No matter how much we push, some things are just not meant to be.

Imagine India Loses the T20 World Cup.

 

I know you have started reading this post with fury raging in your heart for me. How can an Indian wish something as unpatriotic as this?

I am saying so because I wrote a post three days ago P & L Lessons from Virat Kohli to drive home some Parenting & Leadership Lessons with the help of current Indian cricketers – Virat, Dhoni & Yuvraj.

Some friends of mine commented that we are obsessed with winning and read too much into successful feats.

Would we be inspired by our team even if we fail?

Can we love people who lose?

Certainly, we can. Rather, we should if we understand the rollercoaster ride called life.

Aren’t we harsher in areas where victory and defeat can be quantitatively measured?

There is a clear cut win/loss in sports, exams, elections. Our perception of a person swings swiftly with the result. We keep judging the performance and we keep juggling our opinions.

Isn’t it possible to enjoy sports/exams without obsessing about the result?

I agree that you are still reading it with fury converting into wrath for me.

Who would want to enjoy an exam and not feel bad on failing it?

Half of the parents sulk all their life as their children fail to make it to their (parents’) dream colleges? Is it worth it?

Every tournament is made up of so many matches/games.

Each life tournament is full of so many such battles.

We cannot win all of them, we cannot lose all of them.

But we can certainly do two things:

• We can give our best in all the matches.
• We can enjoy all of them irrespective of outcome.

When Lord Krishna talked about “Nishkama Karma” he wanted us to work with spirit of excellence without worrying about the result.

When MS Dhoni doesn’t sulk after a loss, people feel hurt. Those who have seen a Lotus stand out gracefully in a murky pond know that it requires courage to stay so fresh and beautiful amidst the dirt.

No water drops stay on lotus leaves due to their super hydrophobic surfaces. These leaves don’t let water drops stay on them. They even self-clean themselves as the tiny water droplets pick up small particles of dirt as they roll. Neither water remains nor dirt and the leaves remain clean.

We could remain as clean as these leaves by letting all the wins and losses roll off after a heartfelt engagement with them.

Detachment doesn’t mean indifference. It means being in the moment, enjoying it to the fullest and letting it go.

A laughter and a tear, both serve their purpose and should be allowed to roll off.

If we lose it, will the same team that we are so fond of today became suddenly worthless? How is that possible?

Even if we lose the World Cup, we can enjoy the moments of great cricket and leave it at that.

After a straight 41 match winning streak, magical pair of Sania – Martina lost in early round of Indian Wells and Miami Open.

World No. 1 Serena Williams and second rank Andy Murray also bowed out of Miami Open.

Should we start trolling them or start judging their calibre?

Let us appreciate Svetlana Kuznetsova for putting a memorable effort to defeat Serena and move on.

Let us enjoy the experiences, cherry pick our lessons and move on with a smile.