Here's the magic bullet a five-time Olympian recommends for success
Abhinav Bindra talks about the one thing he would want to rewrite in his historic career as a sportsman if he had the option
By
Last Updated: Jul 26, 2023, 12:34 IST5 min
Advertisement
Abhinav Bindra, the first Indian to ever win an Olympic gold in a solo sport, single-mindedly devoted twenty-two years of his life to follow his passion and give it his best shot despite many challenges. In a wide-ranging conversation on Forbes India Pathbreakers, the ace-shooter talks about his untiring quest for perfection and his indomitable spirit to bounce back and persevere despite all odds. “I’ve achieved many goals in my sports career. I’ve won an Olympic game, a World Championship gold medal, Asian games medals, Commonwealth games, and several others. But if you ask me the question, did I achieve my potential, then the answer is no. I fell very short of achieving my fullest potential and now that I have the luxury of hindsight and the ability to look back, I would attribute that failure to the lack of balance that I had as an athlete," Bindra says. It is seven years since Bindra hung up his rifle but the values he imbibed as a sportsman continue to light his path as an entrepreneur. The five-time Olympian shares his plans for the future and why he believes the next decade is going to be the decade of sports in India. Edited excerpts:
‘Find that balance’
The greatest moments in my sports career came when I was a student athlete. That is when I had balance. I had only so many hours to train, and I had to study, and due to that balance, I performed my best though I did not get a gold medal at the Olympics. But I did not achieve that performance in my twenty-two years. It takes courage to let go, especially when you have that kind of a personality where you are a little obsessive and have a perfectionist streak. It’s tough to let go and do other things because you believe that training 14 hours instead of 13 hours will do you good. But, sometimes, stepping back does you even more good. I achieved many goals in my sports career. I won an Olympic game, a world championship gold medal, Asian games medals, Commonwealth games, and several others. But if you ask me the question, did I achieve my potential, then the answer is no. I fell very short of achieving my fullest potential and now that I have the luxury of hindsight and the ability to look back I would attribute that failure to the lack of balance that I had as an athlete. While it is very easy to say it, but to actually put it into practice is hard. In corporate life, you talk about work-life balance, but how many people actually follow it. It’s difficult. But I think it is very important. Having the ability to find that balance I think is the key to achieving one’s fullest potential. I think that’s the only thing I would like to change but frankly you don’t have that option so why dwell on it. I look at life day to day and am grateful for what I have rather than dwell on what I don’t. I think it is about acknowledging how grateful we should be as human beings and really try and find joy in the little things of life. That is how I try and live it but, of course, I get frustrated sometimes on that and don’t follow through completely on that but it is my attempt.First Published: Jul 26, 2023, 12:34
Subscribe Now- Home /
- Leadership /
- Heres-the-magic-bullet-a-fivetime-olympian-recommends-for-success
Advertisement