What Does It Take To Re-Invent Yourself And Win?
- Brainz Magazine
- Aug 9, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 10, 2021
Written by: Santosh Naidu, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Namaste, Bonjour, Hola, Halo, Greetings!
In my last article, I defined wellbeing and listed the various ways to measure health. In this edition, I would like to continue with mental health but before that, rejoice in the pinnacle of human excellence with all the Olympians for their extraordinary performances. Quite substantial due to the pandemic - the wait and all the difficulties they had to overcome leading up to the summer Olympics. On display, the passion, grit, persistence, sacrifices, pain, tears of celebrations, etc., remind us what it takes to compete at the highest levels on the planet. Hence the Olympics is that one occasion where we truly celebrate healthy competition combined with sporting excellence.
What Does It Take To Perform At Superhuman Levels After Bubbles And Lockdowns?
I am sure we all are cheering for our respective nations and engrossed with the achievements of our athletes, but here in India, I believe we are excited to be at a cusp of a sporting renaissance. Never before has there been such buzz around a sport that is not cricket. The medal in Hockey was won after a gap of 41 years, with the men winning the bronze under Coach Graham Reid and the most significant achievement that shook many in the country and the world out of all their rendezvous was the performance of the Indian Women’s Hockey team under the guidance of Coach Sjoerd Marijne. Starting with 3 consecutive losses to beat Australia 1-0, the girls simply re-invented their play and went on to finish 4th. Their superhero effort won the praise of the whole sporting world and became Champions overnight.
More than a billion were celebrating these accomplishments along with all the medal winners in Chanu in weightlifting, Lovlina in boxing, Sindhu in badminton, and Ravi and Bajrang in wrestling. Got to mention commendable performances in golf and equestrian, too, and no wonder I say these are exciting times for Indian sport.
As a person with a sporting background myself, I can relate to what it takes. I have overcome with emotion on many counts when I saw the winners on the podium. It’s a team job that includes the efforts of the players, the Coaches, sponsors, and the support staff that made it possible.
It’s An Incredible Feeling To Win
One can only imagine what their journey was like, but such achievements definitely inspire and motivate us to do more, lift ourselves up and push us to put that one more step forward in our own journeys of life.
In a world that is struggling to get back to normal from the impact of COVID-19, there is quite a change that is being witnessed in the way we go about our business. With most change being forced on us involuntarily, there is quite a lot of stress that many are experiencing. The recent inputs from Gallup surveys show a significant rise in negative emotions such as anger, depression, and sadness globally. Following are a few data points:
45% of the people say their life has been affected “a lot” by the COVID-19 situation
43% of the employees experienced “a lot” of stress, was 30% in 2009
41% of employees experienced “ a lot” of worry, was 30% in 2009
And I recently read that millions are quitting jobs their jobs, a trend was spotted in the US.
With such impact and uncertainty, it is easy to be discouraged and disappointed. Add to it the demands of modern-day sport where athletes pushing themselves to the limit can sometimes lead to injuries. Some are physical, and some are mental. The latter was evident with the number of athletes pulling out of competitive sport recently due to mental health issues. We had Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, Ben Stokes, Adam Zampa, Mathew Wolff, Liz Campagne, etc.
Being the professionals that they are, I am sure they have made informed decisions with their coaches and support staff to take a break and come back afresh. Such breaks also serve as ways to re-invent themselves, and being the champs they are, and I am sure they will bounce back Stronger.
Yes, champions perform at superhuman levels, and so can normal people. The difference is a bespoke solution that works for that individual, a winning formula.
So What Is A Winning Formula?
Is it better self-awareness, coaching, discipline, hard work, determination, work ethic, consistency, motivation, focus, attitude, persistence, etc.? We can look for all those good words and their synonyms, but there is no one “magic potion” that will help anyone, and we got to create our own solution, a “formula.”
Inspired by Druid Getafix from Asterix comics, I strongly learned to believe that every solution is a type of a formula, a potion from Druid or fairy Godmother, a medicine/vaccine, a mix with a specific quantity, a combination to heal, to solve, to use or to entertain. Be it a recipe, a product, a team, a toolkit, or a mix of talents, a combination of learnings, certifications, etc. Just that formula needs to be formulated, tested and released, repeated or reproduced for success, or changed when encountered with failure. The formula works as long as it’s created, improved upon, factoring the unique variables we come across, and that includes success or failure.
When I was a kid, my Coach said, "success has many fathers. Failure is an orphan," and that there will be many to claim credit for your wins and none to associate themselves with your failure.
No One Likes To Associate Themselves With Failure, And That's Where Many Fail
Failure is indeed unpopular and demotivating, but in fact, it is giving you another chance to get better because you know what does not work for you by knowing that you discover your measure. An accurate measure is halfway there, like a recipe in a book; you need to get the ingredients right and follow a process.
I am on a mission to #makingfailuresexy
So if you are gloomy, don’t know what to do, sad, depressed, or angry with your situation, let me tell you that it is not a bad situation for you to be in, but it’s possible to emerge from that rock bottom to perform at highest level. Treat this as an opportunity to Re-invent yourself, to unload, reload and re-launch yourself, a long-awaited career pivot move that you long desired. As a Coach, I can vouch for the fact that there is nothing that can stop you from achieving your dreams as long as you decide to put in that effort. One of the sub-formulae is
Talent x Effort = Strength
So are you ready to Re-invent yourself with that winning formula?
Therefore the high-level construct of the formula is as follows:
What talents are you gifted with?
Assess what’s wrong - determine the problem
Measure the problem accurately
Analyze what the causes are
Enhance your formula
Pilot test the improved formula
You can start with a self-assessment of your wellbeing with our app, and factoring the construct above. I will help you create that bespoke winning formula by working with you discover those dormant talents, put in efforts where it matters, learn from those failures, and inculcate those practices that will help you emerge a better human and eventually become the champ you deserve to be.
Santosh Naidu, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Santosh Naidu is a Management Consultant and a Brainpower Coach with over two decades of international experience across Asia, N America, and Europe. At the turn of the century, he was employed with GE Capital, IBM, and Fidelity Investments and, in his last role, was heading HR S Operations Excellence for the APAC region at Deutsche bank group. He has been running his consulting and coaching practice for the last 10 years under the brand name santhnaidu®.
His objective is to facilitate relevant change and human wellbeing. He is excited about solving some of the most pressing problems, such as unemployment, mental health issues, and climate change. He is well known in industry circles for taking a stand on unethical practices. Over the years, he invested in treehouse building, soil rejuvenation and loves playing his part in innovating sustainability solutions.
As a brainpower and strengths coach, he ensures wellbeing for his clients by diagnosing and addressing various issues impacting the modern populace. This is done by using credible surveys, credible APPs, and coaching methodologies. His unique coaching approach helps clients' spot causes affecting them, especially after the recent pandemic where many are struggling and suffering silently.
Be it physical, mental, career, social, or community aspects, his unique coaching formula addresses most lifestyle aspects by helping his clients build strengths from natural talents, gain confidence from physical, mental, and nutritional methods to sustain the changes they make to successfully thrive.
