Are you a winner ?

Are you a winner? Do you go out there feeling that YOU WILL WIN? Research says that you can will yourself to win – a lot of succeeding & winning in life starts in the mind. You have probably heard of Pygmalion, the king of Cyprus – in Greek mythology – incidentally he was also a very talented sculptor. The story goes that he carved an extremely beautiful statue, which, according to him was the ideal woman. He even gave the statue a name – Galatea. The exquisite beauty of the statue mesmerized Pygmalion and he was enamoured with her. He spent days talking to the statue, while neglecting everything else around him. Friends and family began to get worried about his obsession which was bordering on the ridiculous. He however had a deep desire and will for the statue to be real and with the help of the Goddess Venus, he was actually able to bring her to life and they lived happily ever after. The Pygmalion effect or Rosenthal effect has come to serve as a metaphor that aptly illustrates the power of expectation. In simple language, it is all about positive self – expectancy, confidence and optimism. I vividly remember seeing ‘My Fair Lady’ where the speech professor’s expectations became the catalyst that finally inspired the magical transformation of an amusing Cockney flower seller into a lady! I guess that reinforces the point that when we expect more from ourselves and from others – we get more. When we expect less – we get less. Similarly, in the year 1968, Dr Robert Rosenthal, a professor of Psychology conducted a real- life experiment whereby a group of teachers were informed that they had been given a class of very high achievers when in reality they had been randomly assigned. When this controlled group were tested a year later, they performed measurably better than their counterparts. The teachers had high expectations after being informed that their pupils were high achievers and that had translated into more challenge in the classroom, better outcomes and increased student learning. Let me relate a personal anecdote. One January I was once asked by the boss as to when I was going to complete a particularly large and rather critical assignment for the company . I had thought about this at length and without batting an eyelid I said “ September’’ The boss looked at me in a rather incredulous manner and I knew what was coming. He said “I am sure it can be done before April’’ . He then went on in a rather matter of fact manner to list the things that needed to be done ( according to him) to complete the task and followed it up with, “ so is that okay” I had no other option but to reply in the affirmative. To cut a long story short, he was absolutely correct. He was confident that the job could be done before April and he believed I would be in a position to deliver as per his expectations. Needless to say I did! Do we want to win? If we condition our mind to it, we can definitely increase our chances of winning or at least doing much better. The problem is that so many people sell themselves short – in reality, they do not believe strongly enough in themselves and their capabilities and hence success eludes them time and time again. That has a downward spiralling effect – their confidence and creditability both take a beating and they end up cutting the same branch they are seated on. Winning begets winning and it is not just a cliché but a proven fact. Hence, If you want to do better in life, and who doesn’t , then go out there and expect to be a winner- not at all costs or at the expense of others but honourably! Success is sometimes only a breath away .