 |
| Venus Williams |
Recently I was watching the US Open and a match involving Venus Williams. It was early on in the tournament. In fact it was her first match against Vera Dushevina and she was in a real battle. Yes, her opponent was playing great but that wasn’t really it. She was hurt, Venus was struggling physically and had a problem with her knee. She wasn’t moving well at all and you could see the pain on her face and her body movement. Not too far into the match Venus had to call for an injury timeout. She needed to have her knee taped and then try and fight through the pain and win the match.
What was amazing wasn’t the fact that she played great and won the match. The amazing thing to me was the fact that she didn’t want to talk about the injury. She gave a tremendous amount of credit to her opponent and didn’t want to make any excuses at all. Every question that was about the injury Venus deflected like the pro she is and turned it into a positive. That was the amazing thing for me! No matter what, she had an amazing smile on her face even though she could barely walk.
- So I ask you don’t we all want to be like Venus Williams?
- Wouldn’t it be great if our staff was filled with people who always tried their best and never made excuses?
- Wouldn’t it be great to have a team of people who always performed at a high level even if they aren’t feeling well?
- What other athletes never make excuses?
- Wouldn’t it be great if we never made excuses?
I look forward to reading your comments and getting your point of view.
Sri says:
I keep reading your blogs but this post really prompted me to reply. Being a tennis player myself and having played tournaments at the professional level, I really appreciate the way Venus handled her injury. Kudos to her! Also have realized over the years that a lot of other things learnt from the game can be applied to life as well. An example is when advised to play each point as if it were the last, giving it our full concentration. How many times are we advised to live each moment of our life to the fullest, aren’t we? Love the game! Love your post!
Jim Quilty says:
Mind over matter is an amazing phenomenon. Composure is icing on the cake. We all have these qualities, and seeing it displayed at the highest professional levels is a nice reminder of how we can employ these skills on a daily basis. Good topic.
Michelle Elster says:
Venus handled herself so well, it amazed me. She knew that if she talked about her injury it could negatively impact the way she competed herself and could give her opponent an edge. Tennis, business, and life, in general, is so much about staying positive and focused on a goal. Venus is great role model for all of us.