Excess baggage, whether it is the tyre we are carrying around our waist, the habits that no longer serve us, the people who are a drain on our energy, redundant stories, and beliefs, all of them are impediments to us reaching the next level that we are seeking.
Shikhar Dhawan, a very important cog in India’s lineup, scored a brilliant century against Australia in this World Cup. Unfortunately, a hairline fracture he sustained during that match has kept him out of action and we will hopefully see him in action during the business end of the tournament.
In the recently concluded IPL, Shikhar Dhawan played for the Delhi Capitals. The team has undergone management and name changes and their performance in the tournament was one of the most heartening as they finished third in the table.
The current crop of Indian cricketers is the fittest by far compared to any previous generation. A lot of this has to do with their captain Virat Kohli who is one of the fittest cricketers in the sport. He also recently turned vegan and says that it has made him feel even fitter up a few notches and made him calmer. Shikhar Dhawan himself turned vegetarian some time back and when asked for the reason, gave a very interesting answer. He said:
“Turning vegetarian has nothing to do with fitness or diet. Of late, I have been focusing on cutting out all the negative energy from my system. It is just that I have started to feel that eating animal meat brings negative energy to your body. That is why I turned vegetarian just three months ago.”
Of course, not everyone needs to equate meat with negative energy. It was just that Dhawan equated his move of giving up meat with reducing negative energy and increasing positive energy.
Even Virat Kohli underwent a similar transformation. When he first burst onto the scene, he was chubby and not the fittest. His hard living and hard-partying ways scared people who were sure he would lay his talents to waste. At some point, he realized he needed to make drastic changes if he were to take his game to the next level.
He gave up junk food, most of his favourite foods and went the whole nine yards when it came to training. Since then, his game has only gotten better. His transformation is awe-inspiring — from brat to legend in less than a decade.
What Dhawan and Kohli are doing is letting go and shedding things that they feel are impeding their performance. MS Dhoni, also one of the fittest cricketers around, abruptly retired from test cricket a few years back in a bid to prolong his limited-overs career. He didn’t really enjoy the format so he shed it, saving his energies for the formats that he enjoyed.
When we pack for a trip, we always take only what is required, especially if we are travelling by flight and have a weight limit. Excess baggage, whether it is the tyre we are carrying around our waist, the habits that no longer serve us, the people who are a drain on our energy, unsupportive work environments, redundant stories and beliefs, all of them are impediments to us reaching the next level that we are seeking.
A couple of years back, I opened my cupboard and realized that I was stockpiling clothes without any rhyme or reason. I then decided to incorporate a practice — if I bought something new, I had to give away something old. The practice has served me well and I have fewer old clothes in my wardrobe now. Also, giving away old clothes is a lot easier than giving up habits, thoughts, and people that don’t serve us.
Realizing that you need to shed something before moving forward is only the first part of the realization.
