Will all talented individuals in this room please stand up ?
The comment from Simon Kuper in the Sports Column of Financial Times about Lindsay Davensport left a resonance in me. At 29, after half a lifetime on tour, Davenport remains unappreciated. Despite her ranking, Linsay Davenport remains unappreciated. This is partly because the world demands that female tennis players be beautiful. Partly it has something to do with Davenport remain unaware that she’s a tennis genius.Linsay was born for sport. To borrow the paragraph from Simon Kuper, Linsay’s serve is so hard she regularly hits aces even on clay and the only woman’s groundstroke bigger than Davenport’s forehand may be Davenport’s backhand. She brings the power play of men’s tennis to the woman’s tour.
Since January 2000, though, she has won none. Of course this is unfair. Davenport’s failure to win the Grand Slam is curious. Last month she won her 50th title and yet in the biggest matches, her attitudes of “take it if winning means so much to you” make tennis fans of the world ignore her as a no body. Faced with hypercompetitive women like Venus Williams or media savvy Anna Kournikova, Davenport is like a faceless peace-loving monk who shies away from confrontation. This is not what the fans are in for. Just like boxing and chess, tennis is largely a battle of two persons’ will.
When she lost to Venus in Wimbledon final this summer, she commented in a typical Linsay’s manner that “It was just amazing to me how Venus, every time the chips were down, played unbelievable. Every time I got up, she took it away from me.” This kind of respect and appreciation for your rival you see only in the King of Kings. It is hardly an act. Unfortunately nobody ever says that of her.
The problem explains itself when you hear her speak. Smiling, polite and eager to please, she spends her sparsely attended press conferences putting herself down. “The other night I saw myself on TV and ran of the room” is a typical example.
I met many talented individuals in my career and my volunteering work that share the same traits like Lindsay. Largely unaware of their own talents, they spend their life quietly contributing and supporting others to win. This seemingly noble act has one problem. Most of them have failed to acknowledge their own contribution and appreciate the power they have. Thus allowing us who could be friends, spouses, relatives or colleagues or even sport fans of these talented and gregarious individuals, to forget to express our appreciation.
Living in the world of consumerism, anything that gives an instant adrenalin rush, injects an instant satisfaction, than the dull accumulation of wisdom and gentle kindness. However instant satisfaction is largely short lived because they are easy to come by and hardly unique. Soon when the novelty is over, voids set in and no wonder we ponder if the kindness and beauties have disappeared in our world.
The truth is that beauties and kindnesses are all around us, in the seemingly ordinary individuals that we get in touch with every day. Start appreciating them, and before you do that, appreciate yourself too.
So, will all talented individuals in this room please stand up?
.......... .and are you standing up ?
posted by Vegie @ 3:36 PM
1 Comments:
I'm standing up! I acknowledge myself for creating in others, too. And I stand for humility, as well
Welcome to blogosphere! Vegie?
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