The letter F.
Think about it and two words come to the picture. One of them causes
anticipation while the other leads to exasperation. I am going to talk
about the latter. The word ‘Failure’!
‘Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing’. The credit to this infamous quotation usually goes to Henry Russell and Vince Lombardi.
But does or rather should this quotation hold good in all spheres of life?
I, at a personal level feel, there is much beyond winning. Infact, I say the real ecstasy lies beyond winning.
Winning is a destination. We win; we reach the destination. We pause
for some time and look for directions to set a new destination. This
wonderful, joyous, victorious journey has breaks. While if we simply run
after dreams; chase them; we keep moving. Dream after dream we have
something to look for, to live for!
Victory is not always in walking up to the stage or standing tallest of
the three but often the true pleasure lies in achieving personal
milestones; knowing from within that I did my best and I am glad that I
did it.
It’s the journey
More than the success itself, it’s the journey that makes it more
memorable, more treasured. How many of us talk about the moments we
spent on the stage receiving the award? And how many of us feel the
constant urge to narrate our stories of the preparation, the struggle,
the run and the hard work that led us up to the stage?!
Dame Beryl Bainbridge, who died last year, missed out five times on
her country’s most prestigious literary prize, the Booker Prize. She
lost it five times. For the same, she was nick named as ‘Booker
Bridesmaid’. No author was ever shortlisted as many times as her.
Finally, to regard her for her master skills, the Booker Prize
Foundation created a special prize, The Man Booker Best of Beryl and
asked the public to vote for one of her five shortlisted novels to win
the accolades. With public voting, her novel Master Georgia won the
honor.
In 1997, just a few days before our school annual function, the
school vice-principal called me to his cabin. I entered. He asked me to
sit and said, ‘I saw your application for Best All Rounder of the
School. Thing is I want and I feel you must win the prize. You deserve
it. But.. you are already getting a prize for the ‘Best Pupil Teacher’
so I thought let me give it to xyz. She told me she wanted to
get a prize on the Annual Day, desperately. ‘ I kept listening and
finally he said, ‘What is it? Just a certificate. You know you deserve
it better than anyone. So, if just the piece of paper goes to someone
else, it doesn’t bring you down but it will give her happiness. What do
you say?’ I nodded, flashed a genuine, broad smile and walked out of the
cabin feeling victorious and elated.
My husband, IAS topper (AIR – 6), never talks about how he felt when
he got the news or how he feels now, after becoming an IAS officer from a
MTD in Air Force. What he always and enthusiastically talks about is
how he ran for his dream, how he prepared for it and how he enjoyed the
time when no one showed confidence in his dreams but he.
Winning is Within
We know from within when we win. If we give out best, we know we did it – whether we get the desired result or not.
Our ‘self’ is the best judge. Which is why many a times we become
devastated at a small failure while very resiliently we deal with
relatively bigger failures.
I am able to recollect a beautiful poem written by Antonio Machado –
Last night as I was sleeping
I dreamt – marvelous error! –
That I had a beehive
Here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
Were making white combs
And sweet honey
From my old failures.
Last night as I was sleeping
I dreamt – marvelous error! –
That I had a beehive
Here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
Were making white combs
And sweet honey
From my old failures.
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