Success vs. Joy
- VII -
Single-Mindedness
Successful people understand the meaning of discipline and of total commitment to a single cause. This discipline, by definition, necessitates a simplified lifestyle. This is the key to improving concentration.
Prakash Padukone once told me that for six years in a row he did not watch a single movie while he was undergoing a rigorous training regime. He would wake up at 5.30, go for a 10-kilometer run, return home for breakfast, exercise, then play two-and-a-half hours of badminton, come back at noon and sleep for two hours. He would then wake up at 2.30 in the afternoon, exercise till 3.00, play badminton between 4.00 and 7.00, do some cooling-down exercises, return home at 7.30, have his dinner and go to bed by 8.30. He maintained this incredibly disciplined lifestyle for six years without a break, seven days a week!
It is much the same for other prominent Indian sportspersons such as Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, chess wizard Vishwanath Anand, Sachin Tendulkar and P.T. Usha. All have dedicated their life to the pursuit of excellence in their chosen field to the single-minded exclusion of everything else.
The world sees them as individuals who have made many sacrifices. Ask the athletes themselves and they would insist there was no sacrifice at the time – only joy! There is joy in any activity that leads to personal growth and excellence. The process of growth and learning is the basis of joy. Where there is joy, there is no sacrifice.
It calls for enthusiasm and perseverance, sticking at it unswervingly, disregarding success and failure.