Who wins, really?
VICTORY is not always about the stands erupting in a joyous whoop, but a quiet, inner satisfaction that comes from having given one’s best. From sporting greats who made history, to an autistic child completing a race or learning to make a terminally ill parent top priority, success is often about achieving personal milestones.
Success isn’t about winning Winning before a stadium is not always the yardstick for success. Cricketing legend Kapil Dev seemed to think so too when asked whether Mahendra Singh Dhoni, going into the World Cup finals, was a good captain. Kapil, who led India to World Cup victory in 1983, declared, “I will never doubt Dhoni’s credentials as a captain irrespective of the result of World Cup final. Look at Ricky Ponting. He has won two World Cups and after one bad World Cup, he is out. That’s not the way to judge a captain.”
For Dhoni too, when he hit the defining sixer, it was a point he proved, but not to the world. He said, “I had a point to prove to myself and to no one else.”
It’s the journey that counts Life is unpredictable and it’s the journey that’s important. Pawan Adhikari, after seeing major career upsets, finds himself wellsettled in an MNC. He is a winner for having survived it all. Says Pawan, “I know for sure that the ups won’t stay forever, and neither will the lows. Yes, when the chips are down, it’s difficult to look for the silver lining, but persistence keeps you going. When you’re in the dumps, remember that the change is just round the corner.”
The world recognises a winner eventually, even though you may not feel like one right now. Actor John Abraham, on the couch for the show Koffee with Karan defended his flop film No Smoking as among his favourites. He believed it was important to keep doing such films as one day, they would matter. When Dame Beryl Bainbridge died aged 77 last year, she had been rejected five times by the Booker Prize jury. Regarded as a master storyteller, organisers asked readers to vote for one of her five shortlisted novels to be awarded a special prize called The Man Booker Best of Beryl.
It’s about personal victories Merry Barua, who started Action for Autism after her son was diagnosed with autism has learnt to value little victories. She says, “There is no winning or losing. The first time your child looks you in the eye, follows your instruction without a prompt, a seven-year-old who has just learnt to show a card to indicate a need to go to the toilet... or the first time my then 15-year-old son said, ‘I love you!’”
Jaya (name changed) was in her early twenties when her parents fell ill. While they eventually succumbed to their illnesses, there are no regrets. She says, “I know I did more than my best. I made them top priority. I put their welfare before my own.”
Learning to evolve A long cherished dream can fire your passion, but also put you on the road to something greater. Poet, writer and Tibetan freedom activist Tenzin Tsundue believes the struggle for Tibet is a personal journey of self-discovery. Says Tenzin, “Sometimes, we fight because we have to, there is morally no other option. There is a dignity in the struggle, which helps us understand our own identity better.”
Nurture a dream, do your best… and enjoy the journey!
Is winning everything? Chasing a dream has its own charm, says Anuradha Varma
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
VICTORY is not always about the stands erupting in a joyous whoop, but a quiet, inner satisfaction that comes from having given one’s best. From sporting greats who made history, to an autistic child completing a race or learning to make a terminally ill parent top priority, success is often about achieving personal milestones.
Success isn’t about winning Winning before a stadium is not always the yardstick for success. Cricketing legend Kapil Dev seemed to think so too when asked whether Mahendra Singh Dhoni, going into the World Cup finals, was a good captain. Kapil, who led India to World Cup victory in 1983, declared, “I will never doubt Dhoni’s credentials as a captain irrespective of the result of World Cup final. Look at Ricky Ponting. He has won two World Cups and after one bad World Cup, he is out. That’s not the way to judge a captain.”
For Dhoni too, when he hit the defining sixer, it was a point he proved, but not to the world. He said, “I had a point to prove to myself and to no one else.”
It’s the journey that counts Life is unpredictable and it’s the journey that’s important. Pawan Adhikari, after seeing major career upsets, finds himself wellsettled in an MNC. He is a winner for having survived it all. Says Pawan, “I know for sure that the ups won’t stay forever, and neither will the lows. Yes, when the chips are down, it’s difficult to look for the silver lining, but persistence keeps you going. When you’re in the dumps, remember that the change is just round the corner.”
The world recognises a winner eventually, even though you may not feel like one right now. Actor John Abraham, on the couch for the show Koffee with Karan defended his flop film No Smoking as among his favourites. He believed it was important to keep doing such films as one day, they would matter. When Dame Beryl Bainbridge died aged 77 last year, she had been rejected five times by the Booker Prize jury. Regarded as a master storyteller, organisers asked readers to vote for one of her five shortlisted novels to be awarded a special prize called The Man Booker Best of Beryl.
It’s about personal victories Merry Barua, who started Action for Autism after her son was diagnosed with autism has learnt to value little victories. She says, “There is no winning or losing. The first time your child looks you in the eye, follows your instruction without a prompt, a seven-year-old who has just learnt to show a card to indicate a need to go to the toilet... or the first time my then 15-year-old son said, ‘I love you!’”
Jaya (name changed) was in her early twenties when her parents fell ill. While they eventually succumbed to their illnesses, there are no regrets. She says, “I know I did more than my best. I made them top priority. I put their welfare before my own.”
Learning to evolve A long cherished dream can fire your passion, but also put you on the road to something greater. Poet, writer and Tibetan freedom activist Tenzin Tsundue believes the struggle for Tibet is a personal journey of self-discovery. Says Tenzin, “Sometimes, we fight because we have to, there is morally no other option. There is a dignity in the struggle, which helps us understand our own identity better.”
Nurture a dream, do your best… and enjoy the journey!
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