Emotional Intelligence
# Ordinary Supermen.
What does it take to turn a team of talented hard workers into unstoppable world beaters?
Pride, patriotism, and above all the aura. You definitely feel the presence or the aura. Opposition teams feel it too. It was Australia’s aura that influenced Savrav Ganguly to bowl first when he won the toss on the morning of the world cup final 2003. His decision was judged harshly & was considered to be one of the reasons for India’s defeat in the final. But, it is inside the team that this aura works its greatest wonders. New comers whatever their skills or status are absorbed. They quickly feed the confidence & solidarity of their team-mates, soon they are performing feats on the field that their mere flesh and bones would suggest are impossible.
Australia won their third world cup final in four. Almost everything that could go wrong for Australia did go wrong:
Ø In January ’03 Shane Watson was ruled out with a back injury and was replaced by Symonds.
Ø On the morning of Australia’s opening match the Shane Warne drugs scandal broke, he was replaced by Hogg.
Ø Two weeks later, Jason Gillespie, who had been nearing his demonic best, limped home, Bichel replaced him.
Ø Ponting had already replaced one of the best captains in the world Steve Waugh, when the names of the players for world cup were declared. Steve Waugh had no place in the team.
Still they won- brilliantly, stylishly, uncompromisingly. Australian’s played with energy and never say die intensity. This aura cannot be brought, borrowed or copied.
Ø It is tied with an intense pride in their cap. That no other country possesses.
Ø It comes from players’ simple heartfelt patriotism.
Ø Their will to win for the people back home who aren’t blessed enough to play for Australia.
Ø It lies in the inspiration they draw from historical figures and events.
Other countries can simulate Australia’s academy, fielding drills and administrative structure. But the things that truly make this team what it is cannot be replicated. They come from the heart.
# They have a second type of intellect, even we have it, but we don’t make use of it. The German poet Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe referred to this using the German word “Herzensbildung” which literally means the “education of heart”. Today we call this emotional intelligence. Intellect and emotion are two sides of the same coin, without feelings, there would be no perception, no memory and no thought. And without a direct wire to the human emotions, not even the most powerful electronic brain will be in a position to think intelligently.
Thus Emotions + Positive Thoughts = Emotional intelligence.
Sports often present us with stressful situations or quarrels in which we find ourselves doing things that we immediately wish we had never done. Strong feelings such as shame, jealousy, and fear can affect our perceptions; often causing us to act before the brain interfere and make us behave in a more controlled manner.
Competition can bring out the best or the worst in athletes. It is often the competitor with the stronger emotional intelligence who can control his or her mind before and during events, who wins. Positive emotions can help sustain motivation and enable us to approach events with enthusiasm and energy. Negative emotions by contrast are linked to avoidance behavior and withdrawal. Different athletes react differently to the same situation. The one, who takes the responsibility to make things happen, emerges to be a winner. The individual must find self-knowledge – the ability to consciously and continuously recognize his or her own thinking process and feelings. You are what you feel and think you are. If you are confused and worried the outcome is most likely to be confused and unsatisfactory. If your thinking is clear and to the point, your brain will give you clear and concise action toward the outcome you desire. Maintaining mental health and emotional composure is not simply the matter of perceiving our own emotions, but also involves the realization that feelings can be controlled.
# Intelligence to a certain degree, is something we are born with, skill can be acquired to a certain level, but emotional intelligence or as the meaning suggest education of heart can be learned and improved. Five simple steps of emotional intelligence or the hierarchy of emotional intelligence.
1. Love:
Love your game and the team you play for: With love the most beautiful of all feelings, a relaxed mood prevails. When you are in love with your game, you sometimes attain that rare condition of bliss, in which the brain shuts off all unpleasant feelings and provides the highest energy. When this happens – you feel so strong that you believe you can attain any goal. This love for the game prevents you from getting burn out; hence you enjoy the game more and more. When you love your team – you believe and support each other, you stand united in any challenge or circumstances. It’s a different feeling and a different game. You float into the so-called seventh heaven, with a relaxed body and mind.
2. Self-confidence:
Positive attitude towards self and towards the outcome of the game: It’s important to remain positive in every situation. This can be difficult, given that much of sport dictates that there be winner as well as looser. However, if you dwell on the negatives and on that looser will occur, are you going to improve any aspect of your game? Probably no. So-choose to be positive, and to see positives in your performance. Even the most deflating butt-kicking contains elements of future success. The consequences are that you will be more relaxed, in a better mood, and will most likely learn valuable lessons. Focus on those natural abilities or gifts that are unique to you as an athlete or individual, you will notice that you will feel much more excited about the up-coming competition. Thinking in this manner will put you in a state of mind where you can easily feel confident and can expect to win.
3. Emotional Self Control:
Control the controllable: Can you control any of the following things:
Ø The playing conditions
Ø The umpires decision
Ø Weather, temperature
Ø Field conditions
Ø Play of your opponent
Ø A bad bounce
Ø Your coach’s reaction
Ø Winning the game
No. But you try to control it. Hence you start getting nervous, which will leave your muscles too tight to play well. Second your confidence will begin to spiral down. Third, how well do you think you will play if you are uptight and have no confidence? You guessed it! Not Very! Emotional intelligence is the shift in your focus from these uncontrollable factors to the factors you can control. You cannot control the event, but you definitely can control your response to that event. That is what makes the difference. Our performance is a function of not our condition but our response to that condition. Respond positively to any situation and expect positive outcome.
4. Empathy:
Respect and appreciation for others: Emotional intelligence also means being in command of your own feelings, your interest in others and your ability to engage in exchange and co-operation with others. It is to respect and acknowledge other people’s contribution in your success. Give credit to others where it is due. Respect your opponents, competitors for their skills, their interest in the game and for their effort to make the game challenging. Similarly respect your social responsibility. Pay back to the society in some way or the other. It’s again a different feeling.
5. You v/s you:
Pushing back the limits: When you reach to this step of emotional intelligence you are not interested in the result of the competition. What you are interested in now is to discover your potentials. Now your competition is not with your opponent, it is with yourself. You make records and you break your own records. You find out new methods, skills and strategies to make the game more and more challenging for yourself. You are not even bothered of where you stand in the ranking because you are much above that competition. You become world beaters and unstoppable, when you keep on beating your old records and are making the new once.
# Once you start climbing the hierarchy of emotional intelligence no negative emotion will be aroused by any situation. Even in a very horrible situation you would still remain positive, confident and successfully come out of any condition.
# Finally I end up my paper with a case that explains how Emotional intelligence can become a competitive advantage and make you a better person.
Formula 1 season the then 5 times world champion Michael Schumacher in his scarlet red Ferrari would have never been under such a tremendous pressure any time before. Reason:
Ø Badly lost 3 opening races of the season
Ø Had to switch over to previous year’s car
Ø 4th race on Ferrari’s home turf: Monza
Ø His mother was critically ill and she passed away a couple of hours before the race.
No one expected him to win. A situation of pressure, emotions, sentiments, commitment, devotion, courage and performance put to test. It was a race to win by defeating his younger brother on a day when both brothers were in almost the same mental frame. Still he raced with the aggression he never delivered before, never raced with such vigor to take the chequered flag for first win of 2003 and latter winning the world championship for 6th time and now he is 7 times world champion. Still you can see the same passion and love for the game.
He has faced tough situations many times:
Ø His brother’s severe accident in front of his eyes during a race.
Ø His own car catching fire while refueling.
But he overcame all such situations and even won those races. Thus by controlling the controllable you can make miracles happen. He has made many records, earned a lot of money, a lot of respect and affection from his teammates and fans and shares the same with others. Never ever his post race conference ends without thanking all his mechanics and even the person who cleans up his car and helmet and people who work on shop floor in the factory to build his machine. After achieving so much in the game his answer to the question ‘what next?’ is “I’ll carry on racing for as long as I get that buzz when I am behind wheels. Pushing back the limits is what makes this game challenging”.
With season 2004 completely dominated by him, he races and competes with himself for his love for driving. And still the champion is humble and modest who would always be there to help others. Be it financially 10 million $ for tsunami victims or working for Dalai Lama for a day in the tea garden.
# Emotional Intelligence helps ordinary people in doing extraordinary things.
