Win/Lose by Nick-At-Will Jahangir
Khan wrote in his book: "You must not be afraid to lose...and you must
not be afraid to win!" Perhaps that should come under the heading of:
"Winning isn't everything, but losing is nothing! How about the old
adage: "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game
that counts." Maybe that should be changed to: "It's hot how you play
the game, it's whether you win or lose that counts!? Jahangir also has
some other interesting quotes...like: "You can't go on winning all the
time!" And: "To be the best, I had to work harder than anyone else!"
What is it...that on the competitive field (squash in this case) there
are those who find a way and keep winning, while others never find a
way to win...and continue to lose!?
Has it ever been considered that those athletes who continue to win,
are those who are afraid and cannot tolerate losing!? Well...sports
psychologists have a few things to say about that! Regarding the fear
of losing, they say things like: "You've failed in the past; You were
criticized or been punished for making mistakes; You're a
perfectionist; Your self-worth is attached to your accomplishments and
performance; You feel inferior; A narrow, fixed definition of failure
is success; You doubt your ability and aren't sure you can do this."
So...is becoming a winning quash-player more about working harder than
anyone else and being afraid to lose, than actually doing all that it
takes to be a winner!?
Or...is it like Martina Navratilova once said in an interview: "I
figure I was blessed with a certain amount of talent, and if I work
harder than anyone else, I'll be tough to beat!" And: Whoever said,
"It's not whether you win or lose that counts,"...probably lost!
And...in a recently broadcast-ed question and answer interview
regarding being the world's #1 squash-player for nine straight years
and winning eight World Open Squash Championship titles, Nicol David
said: "You have to do whatever it takes to be world #1; You have to be
patient; You have to be open to learn and open to change."
