PERSPECTIVE
Rabii Jesus aptly puts it in his teachings as captured in the book of Mathew chapter six verse twenty four - “ No one can serve two masters . Either you will hate the one and love the other , or you will be devoted to one and despise the other ….” Each idea is a Kingdom , a master , an elevated art form . If you treat it casually it will punish you . Just like a sport , for one to be good at it , you have to dedicate lots of time to sharpen your skill and tune your mind and body to winning . Great athletes of all time are always practicing one aspect or another for their ace moves .
Tiger Woods was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on the 10th of March 2022 . The facts behind this worthy accolade did not start in 1996 when he won his first major No ! He has won 15 major championships ; he holds the record for 82 tour wins . He is also fete as the youngest player to complete the Grand Slam at age 24 . I am always tickled with admiration by his win of four majors consecutively .
Those are some of his accomplishments . We also need to look at what made him tick . He picked a sport . He could have picked any other but hey , give it to him he settled on golf . He then under the tutelage of his father developed skill and sharpened them first for fun then it became his trademark . He ruled every game he played . And we all now know why from his documented story by American Media and his narration in many interviews that have been broadcasted worldwide .
His practice routine is not only enviable but not easy . He works his entire body in the gym , then focuses on each aspect of the golf sport . He shoots over 300 balls for each of the fourteen golf clubs . He then zeroes in on crucial aspects that change the fortunes of golf which is pitching , chipping and putting . His putting skill is to die for . He has great control and arrow precision even when putting very long putts . He has sharpened his skill that he can almost pick any spot on the greens and putt once .
Put in the hours
We all want success , but can we put up with the demands to be great at what we do ? Forget the glamour and splendour of great athletes for a minute , do we know the pain of practice ? The painful lesson of defeat ?
“ We all want success , but can we put up with the demands to be great at what we do ? Forget the glamour and splendor of great athletes for a minute , do we know the pain of practice ? The painful lesson of defeat ? The shame of imbalanced life and its ensuing issues ?”
The shame of imbalanced life and its ensuing issues ?? Tiger Woods ’ typical day as a 7year old was golf before school and then more golf after school . As an adult he dedicated 15hours in his 24hour day just to better his skills . And he did this year in year out . He knew what his main thing is . He managed his all-other affairs around his main thing .
He knew they did not have money , he putted for quarters to make calls then grew to putt for dollars and skins . He knew winning majors would turn around the lives of his parents and his own . His dedication to the golf has inspired many other worthy players to the game . The main thing you pick could be the solution to your entire family and larger community .
Part with Indifference
Issues of life can numb our psyche in what we do . The confusion of pain and loss including heartbreaks can derail the pursuit of our main thing . It requires we all develop a resilience that can check for the indifference that the issues of life bring our way . Life has a way of flexing its issues on us and if we are not careful those issues could knock us out of our main thing . There are many things that would upset our success trajectory and we can never wish them away . You cannot insulate yourself from the issues of life . There is no insurance for the risk of a heartbreak or the grief that comes from losing a loved one or injury trauma . Those that overcome they are forever immortalized in the trade of their main thing .
Pull others up
When we work on ourselves , we sharpen our gifts and talents . This is self-satisfying and gives us a lot of leverage . Exponential growth starts when we pull others up . When we purpose to lift others in our wake then God ’ s blessing pursues and overtakes us . A leader who builds others up always goes further than he sets out to go . Our strength is reinforced by those that we lift , this emboldens our resolve towards the pursuit of our main thing .
Play to win
The important thing in any sport is the top prize . Nothing else is prestigious . Nothing else is as satisfying . It is possible to win all the time we play . This depends on what your win is in the game for that instance . It is impossible not to suffer loss even when you are winning . The win should be to play better , conquer certain milestones and ultimately enjoy the game .
When you play make it your business to win . You can win in being true to yourself . You can play to the very best of your ability . You can play to improve a particular area of interest . You can play to improve your pace , time , agility and best moves .
The hope of winning is what makes us throw ourselves with full abandon . The attitude we go with in the game and life sets the pace and more likely than not determines the outcome . It is respectable to win over a strong adversary than a weak opponent .
What is your main thing in this life ? Is it what you meditate on the most ? Is it what you expend your energies the most ? Is it what you network and create relations for the most ? Is it the drive that determines your pace and attitude even in the most disruptive of situations or circumstances ?
And even in all the defeats we face , what is the main thing ? What is the main lesson and take-home ? What we pick in the defeat fall out and spilt milk should be our building blocks towards the next game and win . ■
Lunani Joseph is a Technology & Governance Analyst . He is the Managing Director of Insynque Solutions . He advises on Technology , Governance , Projects & Budgets . He can be reached at :
JLunani @ insynqueafrica . com .
MAL 47 / 22 ISSUE 57