Mental Fitness: Psychological Warfare from Battlefield to Playground

Self-awareness is the very first component of mental fitness. Cricket is a game being played in different formats, such as test, one day match, and T20. Strategies, game plan, and skills are playing a prominent role in cricket, but, winning the game often depends on mental strength of players (Barker & Slater, 2015). Sometimes, one bad over from a bowler, few misfielding, missed catches, and certain decisions can change the course of the game. More focus and concentration are needed throughout the game for every player who gets into the field in order to lead the team toward victory. Hence, mindfulness is the key factor for players to win the match. It is also one of the main aspects of self-awareness. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” quotes Aristotle, Greek philosopher. Self-awareness is a process of understanding oneself, their strength, weakness, abilities, emotions, and potential (Morin, 2011). It also gives them the space to interrogate their own failures, flaws, disabilities, and defects. So, players can utilize their potential to overcome their weaknesses which leads to better performance. When players encounter a do-or-die situation in cricket, their quickness and agility determine that whether a player is good enough in handling the difficult situation with ease or struggling to cope up with that situation. Therefore, self-awareness acts as a core component to build one’s personality and helps them to become stronger individual. Further, the player also gains the confidence to face any problems and the consequences in their professional life (Colman, 2008).

To understand the power of self-awareness, the Indian mythological hero, Arjuna’s life can be taken for this study. Arjuna is known for his courage, valor, and determination. The magical hero has extended boundaries of Yudhistira’s empire through his mighty skills by defeating great kings. Arjuna is the only student who fulfilled the expectation of his guru Drona in Gurukul by answering “I see the eye of the bird,” (Bhagavatam katha, n.d.). For this reason, he is remembered for the focused attention and the power of concentration. Even though Arjuna stood as the Warrior of ages, he finds himself in a dilemma in the battlefield of Kurukshetra to fight against his own kith and kin. He forgot his duty and responsibility to fight for good against evil. His mental instability and confusions pushed him to decide to go back to jungle instead of participating in the war. Krishna, as a mentor and charioteer, tries to balance the mind of Arjuna from negative thoughts and emotions about the consequences of future and asked him to focus on the present to do his duty. This is a good example for mindfulness. He has clarified his confusions, removed all his doubts, and prepared him to participate for war. Having listened to Krishna, Arjuna decides to participate in the war with more focus and confidence (Modh, 2015). The same way, in cricket, a mentor or a sports psychologist needs to be hired full time like other coaches in order to take care of the psychological, emotional, and social well-being of players. A player can possess skill set, physical fitness, have better strategies, and game plan, but the presence of mind, mental strength leads to success. This would prevent a player from distractions, sharpen their focus, and boost their confidence. It helps them to be more aware of their thoughts and the process of that particular game. Undoubtedly, the most successful player in cricket is M.S. Dhoni. He often expresses his mantra for success in his interviews; he insisted that the process is more important rather than the result (Indian Express, 2019). Self-awareness in cricket is more of engaging themselves in the present and involving the process of the game. No player should focus on winning or losing the game, instead they should be very attentive on the process of giving their best. Thinking about the result will make the player emotive. The fear and nervousness that is connected with the result often prevent a player from giving his best. Thus, self-awareness is a technique of giving a chance to connect with their self and gifts the ability to have a control over his own mind (Frank & Ronald, 1980).

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