Not a long time back, many people including myself, were giving examples of Tiger Woods as a champion, as a performer, as a man who kept sharpening his axe even though he had cut all the trees, as a model to be followed by one and all, as a man who could do no wrong. Numerous companies thought of him as not only a good role model but also as the best brand ambassador available and paid him many millions of dollars for promoting their brands.
After the recent few months' events many things have changed specially in the world of Tiger Woods. You could safely say the Tiger has been put into the Woods.
Mixed reactions came in a constant barrage from the voices that matter as well as from anybody worth his salt and every form of the media had been flush with not only new revelations but all sorts of comments and information on the Woods saga away from the greens. It would certainly be tough for any one in this situation.
Now that the story has ended and the eyebrows have dropped back to normal and all that which could have been written has been written and all that which could have been said has been said and done, there is much to be learnt from this pot boiler, not only for the central figure and the family of this true story but for many of us who want to get to the roots of this ‘event’ of sorts, for reasons other than the usual.
For one, any person, of any status can make mistakes in judgment, in decision as well as in action. A person could be a champion at one aspect of his life and may totally mangle other things of his life into a mess that stinks enough to destroy every other positive aspect. The question is, why does a person who has it made, who has the choice to make the correct decisions, who has the time and the resources as well as all the information he needs at his disposal, still makes the error that destroys not only his own but many other lives and careers too?
In the corporate world when the Boss 'screws up’, he gets away with cardinal ‘professional’ sins of mismanagement and leadership slip ups by saying that the action or decision leading to eventual disaster was justified in one way or another at that particular point in time. This behavior keeps repeating itself time and again destroying numerous careers, while ruining many organizations, alike.
The reason that comes to my mind is that because the Boss/Leader does not have to pay as dearly as is suffered by the people who bear the brunt of the misjudgments in question ;( the sting, the pain and the long term suffering are absent) and hence his mind soon forgets and the same sort of action repeats itself.
Unfortunately for him, Tiger Woods has had to pay up in more ways than one. He has had to part with not only half of his multimillion dollar fortune but also his wife and kids, his champion form too seems to have swung away. The dent his reputation has taken can not possibly be weighed.
Another obvious thought that comes to mind is the fact that a great number of people develop a form of detachment or become apathetic to most people around them no sooner do they taste success and power for a slightly sustained period of time. They get so focused on to themselves that every other person (in many cases the very people who are the prime reason of their success) gets pushed to the shadowy periphery of their clouded vision.
This situation could well be called the twilight zone of thought. It’s the time when vision is foggy, ideas are inverted and action thoughtless. The final outcome is heartbreak, pain, loss of face and much more.
The only way to guard against such a misfortune creeping into your life (in case you are chasing the upper echelons of success; whether it’s sports, corporate, political, or social status; whatever form of success) is to have a shark in your tank. Not just any shark.
The most powerful but most suppressed, underrated, underused shark in every human’s tank; the small , tiny little voice from within your being somewhere, needs to be heard , to be learned to be used, to be respected, to be listened to , to be analyzed and to be prioritized.
Listening to your conscious brings not only long term, unshakable success but also peace of mind. The kind of success which can be measured in terms of material or immaterial wealth and peace of mind that makes your life radiate with a hallow like grace.
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