Posted in The Big Picture, tagged perspective, The Challenge on October 14, 2010 |
There’s a part of Andre Agassi’s book Open that I read recently in which he talks about winning his first Major. Prior to that he had been in a number of finals without winning and had really taken a beating in the press for being too much about image and not having what it takes to be the best. When it finally happened for him, it seemed like the press did an abrupt about-face and instantly he could do no wrong in terms of what they wrote about him.
Knowing that nothing had really changed and he was the same person he was prior to winning a Major, and having everything seem so different in terms of how people related to him, the whole experience really opened his eyes.
“I’m supposed to be a different person now that I’ve won a slam. Everyone says so. After two years of calling me a fraud, a choke artist, a rebel without a cause, they lionize me. They declare that I’m a winner, a player of substance, the real deal. They say my victory at Wimbledon forces them to reassess me to reconsider who I really am.
“But I don’t feel that Wimbledon has changed me. I feel, in fact, as if I’ve been let in on a dirty little secret: winning changes nothing.”
Imagine what that would be like. You wake up one day and everyone treats you differently. Better, in fact, and you’re exactly the same person. The only thing that Agassi did differently was score a few more points because it was his opponent that made the mistakes at the wrong times. Knowing that it could have gone either way when he won and when he lost and having everyone act like he was a different person gave him a really interesting and unique perspective about winning and losing.
He goes on to say that he felt bad after losing, a lot longer than he felt good after winning. It’s almost as if winning isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Because it’s something that athletes dream about their whole lives, it’s very difficult for the experience, if it does come at all, to live up to what you dreamed it would be. That’s why I believe that at the highest level, very successful athletes are more about the challenge than the actual victory. In other words, the greatest fulfillment comes from the journey rather than the destination. So strive for the top, absolutely. Dream about it, do what it takes, work hard on improving mentally and physically but also realize that trying to improve and trying to be the best is every bit as important and enjoyable as it is getting there.
Dream about it, do what it takes, work hard on improving mentally and physically but also realize that trying to improve and trying to be the best is every bit as important and enjoyable as it is getting there.
And check out Open whether you’re a tennis fan or not. It’s a great read.
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