As I recently read the news on Michael Jordan's induction in the NBA Hall of Fame, my mind started thinking on why he rates as my (and for many others) "most admired" sportsperson. Is it just that he is an immensely talented athlete? It it that he won several Championship rings? Is it because he is in possession of every possible trophy that the NBA has to offer? For me, these are certainly good reasons, but not the only ones. I think two other attributes are equally important -- the attitude and intensity he brought to his practice sessions and his mental toughness. Try doing a web search on "Michael Jordan Mental Toughness" and you will see several several links. Here are a couple Yahoo and Google. This is clearly a testament to the great athlete's trait. I am tagging this post with those key words, you probably will get this also in search results soon :)
Why do I feel these to attributes are important? It is fairly evident that he is immensely gifted. But is that alone sufficient to guarantee success? Obviously not. A lot of people are equally talented. But why was it that they were not able to translate their abilities into success? It is because they did not spend that those quality hours in the practice sessions. It is a well known fact that MJ treated practice games with the same intensity as Game 7 of a Championship game. He never slacked off. It is so easy to get carried off with success. You do not need to go beyond some cricketers who played for the Indian Cricket team to get ample evidence. To put in heart, sole and body, day in and day out, is an amazing thing.
The second trait is his mental toughness -- ability to overcome hardships and still bring in your "A" game everytime. His performance in the win over Utah while running very high temperature is an example. He is also known to hit the gym every day, even when he had played for a prolonged time the day before. No excuses. Period. Unbelievable.
How much I wish I had atleast a fraction of those attributes !!
