It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wears you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.
Muhammad Ali
The Rumble in the Jungle is called the greatest sporting event in the 20th century. It was a heavyweight championship boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974.
George Foreman was younger, heavier, and fitter than Muhammad Ali. He was the favourite of the bookies, with Ali as a 4-1 underdog. And to top it all, he was the reigning and undefeated Heavyweight World champion at that time.
In contrast, Muhammad Ali was aging at the age of 32, and Foreman was only 25. Ali lost his heavyweight title due to his refusal to join US Army in 1967 and was also suspended from boxing for three and half years. On his come back, though he won a few minor fights but could not get the world championship belt, as he lost to Joe Frazier, the world champion at that time.
He desperately needed to win against George Foreman to regain the world championship title. Ali won this match to regain his world championship title and made history.
After this historic win, a reporter, interviewing Ali, asked if he was afraid before the fight. Ali’s reply was revealing.
He replied that he was afraid by all means, but he never allowed his fears to come out of his mouth.
The pressure of performance was immense, and there was plenty of reasons to be afraid. But Ali never allowed his fears to get the better of him. He knew that as the main protagonist, he could ill afford to show his vulnerability to others.
The rest is history. This fight remains one of the classic sporting events of all times, and the win lifted Ali to the Greatest status.
Jo Dar Gaya, Samjho Mar Gaya…
The same is true in our lives as well. We are all riding a big mad bull, holding on to its horns. The bull, whatever ways we want to tame it, remains untamed. It keeps on jumping up and down, trying to throw us off its back. We are all holding on to it for our dear lives.
This bull is called LIFE. It keeps on throwing us with surprises and trying to dislodge us from a set pattern that we naively determine as fixed.
We all are afraid. Afraid of various things in life. Fear of failure is the greatest pebble in our shoes. This fear could be of failure in life, in relationships, in business, in job - some real and some imaginary.
But we cannot afford to let that fear overwhelm us. We cannot afford to let our inner fear let known to others who are dependent on us for their sustenance. We do not have any other choice but to show a strong self and hide our vulnerability.
We do not know what is in store for us. No astrologer or soothsayer can predict our future. The only armour we have against the unknown tomorrow is our hope and acceptance.
We must hope that everything will sort itself out. It may not be the way we want it to be, but the way it is good for all of us.
We also must learn to accept and embrace the future with open arms. It is not the future that hold us at ransom, it is our fear of unknown that saps us off all our energy.
At no point of time can we afford to show our fears and vulnerablity. We cannot control what is happening around us. But we can definitely control our reactions to it. And showing weakness is not an option we should be choosing.
As Gabber Sing famously said, “Jo dar gaya, samjho mar gaya…”.
Rope-a-dope
Rope a dope is a technique perfected by Muhammad Ali and first used during the Rumble in the Jungle match.
In this technique, the boxer takes a defensive stance with his back on the rope and takes the blows from his opponent. The idea is to tire the opponent, as he keeps on hitting the boxer in the defensive stance. The more aggressive the opponent is, trying to break into the defense of the boxer who is using the Rope a dope technique, the more he becomes frustrated and tired.
Ali used this technique to great effect to frustrate his opponent George Foreman. Foreman was younger than Ali and had more energy. His strength could also be fatal for Ali if he could use it properly.
But Ali had the stamina to withstand the onslaught of the offensive play Foreman unleashed on Ali. Most of the blows Ali took in his arms, shoulders, and upper body, without causing any serious damages to Ali. While trying to break Ali’s defence, Foreman was hitting harder and faster. The more he tried, the more he spent his energy without gaining any advantage. His failure to go past Ali’s defence frustrated Foreman. Ali took advantage of a frustrated and tired Foreman by hitting a few direct punches at his face knocking him out cold.
As in boxing, so in life. Life can throw punches at us at random. We need to have the strength and resilience to withstand the punches and keep our chins up. We must have the patience to lie low and wait for the storm to blow over.
Time is fickle. It keeps on changing its focus, and no storm lasts forever. There is always a light burning at the end of the tunnel.
But do we have the faith and the stamina to hold on to our inner conviction? Do we have the patience to wait for the faint light at the end of the tunnel to become brighter?
These are the answers we must all endeavor to find ourselves.
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