Mouth off – Opinion of Ami Kapilevich of Sports Illustrated
Text: Ami Kapilevich
Source: This article is taken from the September 2011 issue of Sports Illustrated.
Chin up Bokke!
I recently had the privilege to hear Lewis Pugh speak about his crazy polar swim. Two things in particular resonated with me as the Springboks prepare to defend the Webb Ellis Cup.
First of all, Pugh tells us that there are four primary sources of self-belief or confidence: 1) sheer talent that you’ve honed and tested against your peers; 2) being a member of a great team; 3) experience in your area of endeavour; and 4) doing something “from the heart, on behalf of others“.
These all apply to the Springboks, but that last one is probably the most important – and powerful, and pertinent – because when your self-belief resonates with the beliefs of others, then you are doing something not just for yourself but for a cause bigger than yourself, and you become part of that, and it lifts you beyond your personal limits.
There are five types of people in this world: pessimists, cynics, realists, optimists and daydreamers.
Pugh’s self-belief could draw on this because he was raising awareness of climate change. The Springboks traditionally have an entire nation of fans filling stadia and praying in front of the TV. But Springbok-bashing has been something of a national pastime again. And while that well of support will never be in danger of drying up, it could become poisoned by the bitterness of the source that feeds it. Which brings me to the second point that Lewis Pugh made.
There are five types of people in this world: pessimists, cynics, realists, optimists and daydreamers. You should avoid surrounding yourself with either extreme, warns Pugh. Pessimists and cynics are no good because they are doom-mongers. They feed off failure because it validates their negative prejudices. Daydreamers and optimists are equally useless because they struggle to entertain the possibility and consequences of failure in the first place. What you want are realists. But the problem with realists – and I’m embellishing on Pugh’s message here, so please bear with me – is that they are too dispassionate. They have all the allure of a ball box: practical, yes, but singularly uninspiring. So, in order for realists to be useful, they have to have an optimistic streak.
Optimistic realists, says Pugh, will tune you the odds, no matter how bleak, with cold precision, but point the way forward with a nod of encouragement rather than a heavy sigh and a shake of the head.
The bottom line is that it’s OK for okes to moan about the game when the Boks lose. And nobody can deny that there are problems with the team. But now is not the time for smug satisfaction when the Boks lose because it vindicates some disgruntlement. Now is not the time for cynicism because it protects you from embarrassment or disappointment.
Right now the Springboks need us, their supporters, to dig deep for that bit of optimism. It’s the least we can do.
Editor: Ami Kapilevich
ami.kapilevich@media24.com
www.simag.co.za |
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