The Loser Who Holds His Head High

The 1997 film, Gattaca is based on two twins – one born naturally and another who was born through advanced genetic engineering – Vincent and Anton. Although born from the same mother and father DNA, Anton is superior to Vincent in all aspects of human ability, be it physical strength or mental sharpness. Every day, they play a game called ‘Chicken’ wherein both swim into the sea as far as he go until one of them gives up. Naturally, Anton beats Vincent easily, each time, every time. Vincent is aware he cannot win this race. Frustrated at his helplessness, Vincent challenged Anton one more time; the only difference being that this time he is determined to win. So they set out again, swimming further than usual, longer than usual, and this time it is Anton who has to give up. He called out to his brother, “Vincent! Stop! You will drown us both.” On coming ashore, Anton asked Vincent how he did it, to which Vincent answered, “Brother, I did not leave anything for the swim back.”

In the famous 2010 Mohali Test, India were chasing an impossible-looking Australia total after being reduced to eight down, with VVS Laxman and Ishanth Sharma on crease. But it seemed that Laxman, who suffered from a stiff back, won’t let the Aussies win easy. He fought and fought hard, eventually creating history. When asked at the post match conference, he simply said he didn’t want to lose without fighting and winning was something that just happened in the process.

Milkha Singh bowed out of the Sydney Olympics without qualifying for the finals. He took his defeat as an insult, and trained harder than ever before and eventually broke the world record! Narayan Murthy built Infosys the hard way – losing out critical deals, sacrificing a lot of pleasure and taking massive risks. We all know what Infosys is today.

After facing a testing moment, whenever I do, I lock myself up in the bathroom, look in the mirror and ask one question – Have I given my best? A ‘yes’ leads to the ultimate satisfaction and a really good night’s sleep. A ‘no’ would not allow me to rest one bit and I keep pondering what should I have done different. Yeah! I am very hard on myself that way! But, I believe that fighting for that ‘yes’, that night’s sleep, the man in the mirror gives me immense motivation to find newer heights, constantly discovering higher limits. Then the result does not matter. It is a different matter that when one ‘leaves nothing for the swim back’, one rarely loses. Yet if one still does, would the likes of Laxman, Milkha Singh and Mr. Murthy be considered losers, had they actually lost in their endeavors? Probably, for the world! But in their eyes, the man in the mirror will always hold his head high.