Do you have an alternate plan?
We were awaiting the results for the competition. It was to be announced in another few minutes. Glimpses of our arduous preparation for day and night ran through our minds. With every passing minute, the anxiety grew. Though we got to know the results from the organizers that we are the winners, the tension was high. We had traveled more than 1500 miles to participate in this prestigious competition. After numerous filters over umpteen participants, we got into the final 50 teams that were selected. After the grueling 36-hour first round, we had high hopes to be selected for the next round which would contain only 8 teams with each team performing not more than 5 mins and eventually we did. We gave our best in the final round as well. On knowing the results, we had already planned on ways to celebrate the victory. We just couldn’t wait for the results to be announced so that we could execute the plan. The minutes shortened to seconds, finally, the winner was announced “and the much-awaited winner of the competition is …“
It was 1995, there was a championship competition being held at a popular university between the different blocks in the hostel. The usually “losers” who have never won a championship had picked josh and were working so hard to erase the name “losers”. They managed to make their presence felt as they started to climb up in the points table. There were 3 games on the final day, 4*400 meter relay, Chess finals and Basketball finals, The “Losers” needed to win gold in all the 3 and they won in Chess and 4*400 meter relay. The Basketball final was remaining. They needed a 3 pointer of the final 6 seconds to win the match and the captain shot the ball.
It’s 2019, he is preparing so hard for getting an entrance into his dream college His parents too are confident about the results that their son would clear it. His dad even promises to drink with him once he clears the exam. Though he has prepared very well, the fear of failure keeps on popping up. Its the result day. He logs into the website to check if he had made it. Out of anxiety, he makes a mistake in entering the register number and gets it right in his second attempt. The result flashes.
Before breaking what happened in these incidents, let me ask a question. What are some plans that you had to celebrate your success? It could be to booze a lot, go on a trip with your friends or whatever. These plans are indirect pressure to accomplish it anyhow. We have come across news of students suiciding for failing their exams. These are nothing but the outcome of indirect pressure that he or she faces. Once the results are out and negatively, the plans that the person made to celebrate the victory comes to haunt her. The person wasn’t prepared for the negative result and is just pitch black on how to face it.
Usually, people would advise you to have positive thoughts so that positive things would happen. But, there is nothing wrong with having a tinge of negative thoughts. Be planned for the negative things so that once the results are positive, it would be a double delight. Only having a success plan could lead to traumatic stress which is doubly dangerous as the person might not try again the thing. Never plan your victories, if you are to make a plan for success also have a consolation plan for defeat as well.
By the context, you would have guessed what could have happened in these stories. In all these 3 incidents, they couldn’t win it, everyone lost. He couldn’t clear the exam. They couldn’t win the competition and the “losers” couldn’t win the championship. The first said incident happened a few years back for me and it was indeed stressful. The remaining two incidents are from a recent movie that I watched. Ashamed of being a loser, he commits suicide and goes to the coma stage. In an attempt to bring him back, the father tries to convince its never bad to be a loser and he narrates the 1995 championship incident to his son.
