Karoly Takacs and the Winners Mindset

The next time you watch your favorite sport on TV, or read about the stars of the game, it might be a good idea to participate in a little sport yourself. Try this. Get inside the minds of the sportsmen. Get into their shoes. Take a peek inside the psyches of all those sporting heroes. The record breakers as well as the favorites who lose out. Also the person who drops a catch or misses a penalty. And the sportsman who perhaps missed out due to an unfortunate injury, and is watching the game on TV at home. Think of what must be going through their minds. This could be a fascinating game. Sport is a terrific metaphor for life, and there are several sporting stories that inspire and motivate us. But perhaps none more so than the tale of Karoly Takacs. You may not have heard of him, but his life story is worth a listen. Karoly was a sergeant in the Hungarian army. In 1938, the 28 year old was the countrys top pistol shooter, having won most major national and international championships. He was- by a mile- the favorite to win gold at he 1940 Tokyo Olympic Games. Then, disaster struck. At an army training session, a hand grenade accidently exploded in Karolys hand. And blew it away. His shooting hand. Not only did his entire Olympic dream crash, he also lost a limb. Why me? Karoly could have been excused for asking the question most of us would have asked. You would understand it too if he wallowed in self-pity, an understandable reaction for someone after such tragic turn of events. You would sympathize with him if he were to become a recluse, a living example of how fate can devastate the best-laid plans. Oh no not Karoly. He was made of sterner stuff. Instead of focusing on what he had lost- his right hand, his potentially gold medal-winning shooting hand- he choose to focus on what he still had. He had mental strength, the mindset of a winner, the determination to succeed and yes, a healthy left hand. A left hand which, he thought, he could train and transform into the worlds best shooting hand. After a month in hospital, Karoly went out and, away from the glare of the world, began practicing to shoot with his left hand. Despite the pain his body still reeled under, despite the strain the left hand had to undergo to also do all that the right hand had earlier done, he stayed focused on his goal: to make his left hand the best shooting hand in the world. One year later, Karoly resurfaced at the National Shooting championship in Hungary. His colleagues were delighted to see him. They complimented him on his courage, and his fabulous

gesture to see them shoot. But they were taken aback when Karoly told them that he wasnt there to see them shoot; he was there to compete with them. And compete he did. In fact Karoly won the championship. Just one year after loosing his right hand. He won with his left hand. Karolys decision to practice quietly, away from scrutiny, was significant. It is easy for people to ridicule you for dreaming big. It is also very easy for you to stay afloat in your misery for a sympathy wave laps at you from all over. Unfortunately for Karoly, his Olympic dream remained unrealized for a while, as two successive games were cancelled due to the world war. In 1948, the Olympics came to London. Karoly was chosen to represent Hungary in the pistol shooting event. And he won gold. Shooting with his left hand. Imagine being a gold medal favorite, losing your shooting hand in an accident, yet picking yourself up from the shattered mess, training your left hand to shoot as well or better, and going on to win the Olympic gold. Four years later. Helsinki Olympics. Pistol shooting event. Who won gold? No surprises here. Karoly Takacs. We all have moments in our lives when we seem so close to glory but suddenly lose everything. When it seems the world is conspiring to destroy us. Our dreams get shattered. We feel vanquished. Crushed. Beaten. Defeated. And we cry aloud, why me? When that happens think of Karoly. In fact, think like him. Dont worry about what you have lost. Focus on what you still have. Your inner strength. Your mental toughness. No one can take these away. Dont lose yourself to self pity. Pick yourself up quickly. Momentum is key. Karoly was back on the practice range a month after the accident. When you are down, think like a boxer: if you are knocked down, you need to stand up in 10 seconds or less. One extra second, and its all over. Set your self a goal and focus on achieving it. A goal helps channelize the mind and body to work on what needs to be achieved, rather than looking back and worrying about past losses, about what might have been. When your mind is flooded with negative thoughts, its not easy to wish them away. You need a positive thought- a goal- to replace and banish negative thoughts. Winning a gold medal in pistol shooting is less about the hand, more about the mind. Lifes like that. Winning is less about skills, more about attitude. Skills can be acquired, as Karoly demonstrated with his left hand.

When you watch the next game of cricket or football, when you see the winners there, remember to win something for yourself too. Remember the Karoly Takacs mindset. The winners mindset!

We all have moments in our lives when we seem so close to glory but suddenly lose everything. When that happens, dont worry about what you have lost. Focus on what you still have.

Summary: If you focus on what so ever you want you will achieve it without a doubt. Focusing on the things left with us is the key to move forward. Every one is jealous of the success of a person. The trick is to not let it effect your mindset.