Success vs. Joy
- LVI -
Expect the Hecklers
When you are intensely involved as a performer, there will always be something to distract you. It could be a mobile phone in the audience, someone coughing, an unintentional whisper, or even comments from hecklers.
Let’s say you’re addressing a thousand-strong audience on a subject dear to your heart. Slowly you see 999 people walk away, with just a solitary man left sitting and listening to you.
Most people would be dejected and depressed. But that is because there is no mental equilibrium. A trained mind will finish and enjoy the oration with that audience of one.
Anger, depression, and agitation are manifestations of the ego. If I were the speaker, I would perhaps also go back home and do some serious introspection on why 999 walked away. Rather than become agitated, I would accept that perhaps I was adding little value. I would then do something constructive about it, even if it took months or years of working in isolation.
I am often asked how I deal with hecklers during matches. Frankly, I don’t know the meaning of the word ‘heckler.’ I blank myself out before a match. I stop interacting with people. My entire world is confined to that space around the table where there’s no one but me. No audience, no cameras, no media, scorekeepers, and in sports like billiards or golf, no competitors.
I don’t watch television or read a book before an important game. The more you get involved with people, the greater are the chances of varied thoughts getting into your mind. But if you adopt a serene and disciplined lifestyle that eliminates thought, your concentration powers will increase.
Your role is to be at your best.