Worrier or Warrior …..

by Sunil Bali, 13-07-14

Life’s achievers "suffer" from two conditions:

Selective short term memory loss (SSML) and
Post traumatic growth (PTG)

After last weeks Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic said he won because he managed to forget the fact that he had lost his last three grand slam finals, and a 5-2 lead with a match point in the fourth set.

Arguably the most successful golfer ever, Jack Nicklaus, said that, "Golf is mainly played on a five-and-a-half-inch course. The space between your ears. Whether your last shot was perfect or pants, you have to forget about it."

Elite performers rarely indulge in self-flagellation. When things go wrong they’re able to induce short-term memory loss, dust themselves off and move forward.

When JK Rowling was at an all time low, she had an epiphany and realized that she could fall further into despair and keep blaming her parents or step forward into growth. As she said in a recent interview, “There is an expiry date for blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction."

Dr. Stephen Joseph, author of the book, "What Doesn’t Kill Us: The Psychology of Post Traumatic Growth", says people who achieve success through post traumatic growth come out of the other side stronger, wiser and more compassionate than those who have success thrust upon them.

All us humans were born as warriors not worriers, but for many the warrior in us has become buried under a mountain of learned negativity.

As William Henley said in his wonderful poem Invictus:

"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."

So what’s it to be: worrier or warrior?

Humour

Pure, comedy genius in the shape of the inimitable Dave Allen: would you Adam and Eve it (5 min video)

A moth goes to see a podiatrist….

Podiatrist: What’s the problem?

Moth: I’m feeling really low. I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. My wife’s left me, my kids never visit me and my mother died last week. I’ve got a job I hate, no real friends and I worry all the time. I can’t sleep, keep hearing noises and feel exhausted.

Podiatrist: You need to see a psychiatrist. Why have you come here?

Moth: Your light was on.

Sunil