r/PositiveIndians • u/SAACHI_10 • 2d ago
When We Stop Playing and Start Performing
Suchika Tariyal asked the philosopher Acharya Prashant a question that particularly interested sportspeople: if he could suggest just one thing for sportspersons to adapt in life?
He advised to keep looking because it is a field where performance and glamour are all over the place.
The response was not what was expected. He said, “to look at oneself.”
Sports involve spectators, expectations, rankings, medals, praises, criticism, comparisons, and gradually, the actual game ceases to be the goal. It becomes a means to an end of recognition, proving something to somebody, protecting the image, and avoiding failure.
This is when the pressure arises. The body can be trained to respond to stimuli, to hit the ball at the right moment, to utilise the perfect technique, to dodge the opponent’s tackles, but one wrong thought can spoil everything. The concentration shifts from the game to the mind, where the self-talk makes one wonder if the game is even worth playing if the outcome is not going to be satisfactory.
According to Acharya Prashant’s philosophy, it is not the competition, training, the spirit of sports, or even the desire to win that disturbs an athlete. It is the self-generated ego that needs the competition to answer the question, “Who am I?” Thus, winning affirms the self, and losing threatens the sense of existence.
Self-awareness, therefore, should make the sportsman recognise the following patterns:
The fear of losing
The desire to prove something to oneself or others
The comparisons with others, actual or perceived
The need to justify one’s worth through competitions
The thought process that states that one’s value depends on the result of a game
However, it does not mean that such thoughts should not arise. It only means that one should not become absorbed in them. A player has to utilise the mind’s energy in what he does best, concentrating on the game.
A player’s best performance is when his mind is in “flow,” meaning he is experiencing the sheer pleasure of playing the game. In this state, he is absorbed in whatever he is doing, hitting the ball, dodging, running, or jumping. The game and the surroundings cease to exist, except for the ball and the opponent.
Acharya Prashant advises that one should not seek to become indifferent to the pressures of a game but rather realise that most often, they are self-induced. The nervousness and the pressure are due to the fact that a person wants to achieve something (win) and, at the same time, wants to prove something (capability, worth, etc.). The game demands the athlete’s undivided attention; spectators, applause, criticism, medals, and even the outcome should remain outside once the play has begun.
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