Wayne’s World

19 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

SmileApart from being delighted that England squeaked past Ukraine, the Euro 2012 co-hosts, tonight, I was very pleased to see that Wayne Rooney had a pretty good game. Young Wayne has been a bit of a loose cannon in the past, but tonight he got the winner and kept his cool, despite having only recently returned from a rather long lay-off due to injury.

I’m not suggesting that Rooney’s more relaxed demeanour has anything to do with Buddhist practice, but I have to say that mine has been hugely influenced by my own faith. Being calm and collected, particularly under pressure is not only rather important, but also hugely satisfying.

The old saying about keeping your head when all about you are losing theirs is absolutely true. If you allow circumstances to get the better of you, lose your temper or focus, you will almost certainly regret it later. But staying in control not only makes a good outcome more likely, but will also leave you feeling confident.

So next time you get into a confrontation, or find yourself under pressure, take a few seconds to become more self-aware and check any natural tendencies to get angry or emotional. It takes practice, but the effort will pay benefits time after time after time.

Everyone’s A Winner

08 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Euro 2012So Euro 2012 is finally here and tonight’s games have lived up to all the hype and expectations. With the co-hosts Poland drawing 1-1 with Greece, I imagine the Poles are feeling a little down, letting a one goal and one man advantage slip in the second half.

Russia, on the other hand, must be buzzing, having beaten the Czech Republic 4-1. With more fancied teams playing over the next few days there will be winners and losers, but if the matches live up to the openers, football will be the real winner. But even the teams that come out of their opening games as losers can take heart if they look at the results in a slightly different way.

Daisaku Ikeda had this to say:

“Strength is Happiness. Strength is itself victory. In weakness and cowardice there is no happiness. When you wage a struggle, you might win or you might lose. But regardless of the short-term outcome, the very fact of your continuing to struggle is proof of your victory as a human being.”

Going home with the shiny prize isn’t the only way you can win, again President Ikeda has pearls of Wisdom …

“It is not how you compare to others that is important, but rather how you compare to who you were yesterday. If you’ve advanced even one step, then you’ve achieved something great.”

So whatever kind of opening game your team has, you can look at things in several ways, and still come out of it as a winner.