HURDLES

The hurdles is a unique event where mans ingenuity to make the staid and boring activity of running more interesting was improvised upon by putting hurdles that participants have to overcome in order to win. However the hurdles event if seen differently actually mimics life; each day that we live largely is routine but when we seek out opportunities they are there in plenty but unfortunately there are apparently too many hurdles to overcome if one has to grab the opportunities. These HURDLES in real life can be seen as Having Unexpected Resistors Demanding Leaps to Ensure Success.

There are numerous lessons that one can learn from the hurdles event. To begin with one must anticipate the hurdles, one must prepare to cross them, one cannot side step them but have to leap over them and finally even if one stumbles at a hurdle it may not necessarily mar ones chances of success. As human beings though, these lessons from the track and field hurdling event is not easily appreciated and put into daily living. If we analyze each learning point we would realize that life’s challenges and hurdles can be managed with relative ease.

Anticipate the hurdles – There is no one in this wide world who can claim to be free of problems, challenges and tensions. It is therefore prudent to stop, pause and reflect on the possible challenges that one will have to encounter along life’s path. By anticipating, we won’t be taken by surprise, we will have some plans to meet the hurdles and more importantly our confidence won’t be dented.

Prepare to cross them – Just like one prepares for an exam without really knowing the questions that will actually come in the question paper, one can work on meeting some challenges that we can anticipate. E.g. if communication in English is a weakness because one has studied in the vernacular, then working on ones English language skills is imperative.

One cannot side step them but have to leap over them – There is an English saying ‘do not bury your head in the sand like and ostrich’ which implies that when confronted with unavoidable troubles do not try to ignore it or run away from it. Just as the hurdlers have to leap over the hurdles one has to confront challenges with daring and fortitude. Here another saying is equally relevant which states ‘ you cannot cross a chasm in two steps’; implying that at times one has to take a risk and make big decisions. E.g. Someone who is an employee could be passionate about a business venture but he / she has to leave behind the security of a fixed salary and possible take a huge income loss before establishing one’s business.

Even if one stumbles at a hurdle it may not necessarily mar ones chances of success.- Even the best hurdles in the world have a bad day in office occasionally, when they stumble over the hurdles. In life we are more prone to stumble off and on for the hurdles are not evenly placed nor the height evenly adjusted as in the track event. Each day brings new, different and intriguing challenges. Keeping motivated each day is perhaps the most commonly experienced challenge for most human beings. Being satisfied is another huge challenge. These are generic challenges but some specific challenges can be a huge hurdle to overcome. The good part of the hurdles is that life gives us many opportunities to fail and get up and retry.  The best part is that the biggest and most challenging hurdles merely require us to overcome our personal inhibitions. The superlative part of the hurdles we have to overcome is that we do not have to prove our ability to anyone but merely find our inner strength and  passion and align it with our goals to overcome them. These HURDLES in real life can then be experienced as Having overcome Unexpected Resistors Demanding Leaps to Ensure Success.

Action Points:

List out the one hurdle that is impeding your success in the following areas of your life

• Your personal life
• Your professional or student life
• Your social life
• Your self development
• Your thought process

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COURAGE

We experience real COURAGE when we Challenge Ourselves Utilize Resources And Get Empowered and this results in the triumph of our self belief over our inhibitions. Of course it is easier said than done partly because any form of courage requires us to overcome our fears but what impedes us most is our lack of self belief that by taking a courageous stand we can have some major bearing on the issues on hand. Another aspect that dampens our courage is our reluctance to commit ourselves and stay the course once we delve into it. Despite these obvious limitations we tend to display courage more often than we give credit to ourselves.

Broadly there are two types of courage we display – physical courage and moral courage. The former is more limited by our inability to confront the possibility of physical pain. The later thought is tougher because it involves making very conscious and possibly riskier choices with more damaging long term consequences. To understand this paradox we need to realize that we could have gone through both types of challenges to our courage when in school. Most times we wouldn’t mind taking on a bully or squaring up to a rough tackling opponent during the football matches but would be terrified of owning up to  the teacher when caught for some aberration like homework not being done or copying in an exam.

How does one become courageous? The answer lies partly in our upbringing, partly on our mental makeup but largely on our sense of fair play and justice. If one is brought up with a lot of freedom and acceptance and also encouraged to be daring without being a stupid risk taker chances are that one would be more forthcoming and decisive in ones thoughts and actions. Past experiences and a bit of genetics have an important bearing on our mental makeup, but it is possible that an independent thinking person will change for the better with time and determination. However it is the sense of fair play and justice that will ultimately have a major influence on the kind of courage we display. Maintaining balance is critical to display courage in the right measure. Being foolhardy and displaying stupid bravado is not courage and that is an important thought to be borne in mind.

So why is that we lack courage? At times we do experience the sharp pain of hurt, rejection, lack of understanding and loneliness when we embark on a courageous path. Often we find ourselves in a hopeless minority when we stand up for our principles or beliefs. The pain of isolation, the fleeting thought that maybe we are wrong, the overwhelming pressures brought on us by well meaning but perhaps misplaced views of the majority and the strain of furrowing a lonely path frighten us and we succumb to our inhibitions. Then there are threats to our limb an life which are too formidable to be ignored and too treacherous to be treated casually and the net result is that we give up our original courageous path.

Does this make us cowards? If we were to list out the times we have displayed our courage it would make for poor reading and the inference could be that we are cowards. The fault though is that we prune our list and do not list the daily acts of courage we display be it in simply being polite to a boorish person, standing up for our rights when palmed off with fault goods or being over charged, taking up for someone denied justice or simply exhibiting good sense when everyone is going berserk. These acts may not add up to much on the larger scale of courage as displayed by soldiers on the battle field or someone willing to face harassment and possibly being jailed for their own personal convictions. The real measure though is in displaying COURAGE continuously, consistently and courageously for then we Challenge Ourselves Utilize Resources And Get Empowered

Action Points:

1. Outline 3 situations in which you would have a very very tough time displaying personal courage. Also examine the possible reasons why you think you would not be able to exhibit your courage. 
2. Can you recollect 3 events / occasions in which you displayed personal courage. What was the feeling you experienced before, during and after the even happened?

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