Bend it like Beckham. But how?

How do some people become great achievers?

How David Beckham is able to bend football so much? Watch this video that demonstrates his talent. Did you see the turn football makes before entering the goal post? People still wonder how he did what he did.

Some researchers studied Beckham’s game and came up with this explanation,

The wind tunnel technique we’ve developed at the University of Sheffield enabled us to analyse in detail, for example, David Beckham’s sensational goal against Greece in the World Cup qualifiers. We know that the shot left his foot at 80mph from 27 metres out, moved laterally over two metres during its flight due to the amount of spin applied and during the last half of its flight suddenly slowed to 42mph, dipping into the top corner of the goal.

This does explain the physics but doesn’t really tell how Beckham managed to pull it. He didn’t study physics to compute the acceleration, projectile motion, or wind effect for his kicks. But his brain was surely computing such factors based on his experiences, practice and instincts.

How Tiger Woods is able to swing the golf ball into the pocket? Watch this video that shows his master shot. What was he exactly thinking before playing his shot?

Was he computing all the physics factor with his brain? Well, yes in a sense. He was using his experience, practice and instincts to figure out the best way to play this shot.

Why more than 1 billion people are die-hard fans of Sachin Tendulkar ? Watch the master blaster in action in this video. How he is able to play such classy shots with such ease?

If you look into their past, you’ll be surprised to find how much hard work they put in to become the best of the best. As reported in a Fortune article,

Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work.

It is evident that only those people who have worked hard for thousands of hours with proper mindset achieve greatness. Every great person has failed number of times in his life, but it is after such learning experiences they beat the odds and shine. But most of us are so blinded by their shine that we only see their present and fail to remember their past. What differentiate an average from a great are dedication and persistence.

However, we should not forget that any two persons working equally hard might not reap the same fruit of their labor. This can be attributed to their different mindset. Attitude plays a key role in one’s success. If you want to get out of your comfort zone and become an expert in something that you enjoy doing then you are in right mindset. And long hours won’t bother you. All great achievers like Beckham, Woods, and Tendulkar enjoy what they do. That’s why they can put in so many hours of practice without any complaints. But they are not practicing same shot again and again. Instead they keep trying new and difficult shots. They take one step forward with each moment and become comfortable with uncomfortable drives.

So, basically to achieve greatness,

• we need to have a suitable mental attitude to be able to enjoy the things we do.
• we should be willing to put long hours with dedication and persistence.
• we should be willing to overcome the barriers and take one step at a time towards the unknown.

In conclusion, I would like to quote what Kathy pointed out from the book The New Brain:

For the superior performer the goal isn’t just repeating the same thing again and again but achieving higher levels of control over every aspect of their performance. That’s why they don’t find practice boring. Each practice session they are working on doing something better than they did the last time.

Read also: Bend it like Beckham. But how? Part 2.

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