Why Resilience Matters?
Frequently we get upset about our failures and allow them to affect our progress. Are we unfair to ourselves? Certainly, we are. What’s the most common thing we do? We dwell in our thoughts and create barriers, we knock at the closed door and wait for it to open. Why don’t we realize that the past can’t be changed, and focus on what’s coming next. We will become a better person. We often do at our workplace, when we are trying to solve a problem even if we know there is no solution. We make false commitments to ourselves, indirectly affecting our own growth.
Let me share a story from the book Secret of Leadership by Prakash Iyer. This is the story of a guy named Julio a young Spanish boy who always dreamt of playing for his favorite club, Real Madrid. To fulfill his dreams he went above and beyond; he practiced hard, spent most of his time on the football field, and became an excellent goalkeeper. At the age of 20, his childhood dream came true. He was signed by Real Madrid and felt on top of the world. One night in 1963, Julio and his friends went for a drive to celebrate his success, but that night turned out to be a nightmare. There was an accident. Julio soon to be star goalkeeper of Real Madrid was paralyzed from waist down. Doctors doubted that he would walk again, but were positive that he would never play football again.
Deep in his thoughts it took him a long time to recover, Julio was unhappy and was depressed knowing the fact that he would never play football again. Wondering what to do, Julio started writing songs and poems. One day, one of the nurse gave Julio a guitar and that’s the first time Julio laid his hands on guitar. As time passed Julio began strumming and singing his songs.
After eighteen months of hospitalization, Julio finally recovered. After 5 years of recovery, he participated in a singing competition and sang his original song ‘Life goes on the same.’ He won.
Julio never played football again, but went on to be one of the greatest singers in the world. Julio was living a life he never imagined. Yes, it’s the same Julio Iglesias we know and love.
Why was Julio successful? He let go of the past and concentrated on making his future great by living in the moment. We as humans stare at the closed door; we forget that another door is open for us. We kill our own self- confidence. We all face problems at some point in life, but it doesn’t end there. Life goes on.
At FocusU we see similar things happening during our team building activities. We see people building imaginary boundaries around their goals. We see them keeping these boundaries in mind and giving up even before they try. Participants question themselves, and fear to take risks. In the motivation based workshops that we run, we challenge participants to break through these limitations. When that happens, the joy on their faces is something to be seen to be believed!
It’s the courage and the spirit to never give up that makes winners out of individuals. Stand a chance to be that “Best You” by breaking the barriers in your life. Focus on the future and leave behind what’s past. A whole new life awaits you!
