Tennis is one of my favorite sports and Roger Federer has been one of my heroes. He is arguably the greatest Tennis player of all time and his consistency is something I wish to emulate in my own life. When he was asked about his strength, he said it was his ability to play even with pain and problems under all sorts of conditions. In other words, he has learnt how to get the best out of any challenging situation. I believe it is one of the most important qualities for success.
Very early in life I had to learn how to cope with challenging situations. By the age of 3-4, I started suffering from serious breathing issues. They prevented me from being able to play or exercise like other kids. They also caused frequent ailments like cough, cold, fever, etc. As a result of these complications, I had to undergo a lengthy medical treatment which included two surgeries.
Till my teen age years, these health issues prevented me from participating in physical activities like sports competitions. So I focused on academic competitions. I won 4
th and 7
th standard scholarships. In both the exams, I managed to get a place among the top 30 ranks. I also received Maharashtra Talent Search Scholarship. Since I couldn’t pursue physical demanding hobbies, I developed a reading habit and became an avid reader. I had read books about many historical events like world wars, Napoleonic history, etc by the time they were taught in school. All this extra knowledge was really helpful in competitions on literature or history.
A lifestyle that lacks physical exercise and a regular usage of pathological medicines have serious drawbacks for health however. During my teenage years, I started gaining weight. By the time, I was through my teenage years, I had become critically obese with a 40 plus BMI. By the time I graduated I had acknowledged that I would have to solve this problem on my own through determined and consistent efforts alone. I also understood that resorting to any seemingly quicker and effortless options will have long term consequences for my health.
Acting on this conviction, I joined a gym and started exercising, doing Yoga. I also regulated my diet. Through these measures, I have been able to lose more than 30 kilograms in the last three years and I intend to continue down this path till I reach a normal BMI. This experience not only boosted my confidence but also enabled me to pursue physical activities like trekking. I also became more extroverted and outgoing. This helped me a lot while going through MBA entrance process.
Drawing on these experiences I developed my own model which I have since successfully used in tackling challenging situations in my personal and professional life. It involves following seven steps:
- Acknowledge/admit that you’re facing a challenge/problem
- List down the problems/challenges
- Try to identify the root cause for each individual problem and try to converge them.
- It’ll lead you to 2-3 major issues which will solve majority of the problems.
- List down ways of solving the major issues and choose a solution that is viable in the long term.
- Once you’ve selected a solution, follow it through even if the results aren’t immediately apparent.
- Do periodic progress measurement and correct course if necessary. In case of course correction start from step one.
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