Overcoming setbacks the Sarabjot Way....

As the dust settles on India’s results at the Paris 2024 Olympics, as we celebrate the success of Manu Bhaker in shooting, of the Indian Hockey team securing a bronze in Field hockey, of Aman Sherawat winning a bronze in wrestling, I would like to use this blog to talk about Sarabjot Singh, the bronze medal  winning partner of Manu Bhaker in the 10m Pistol Mixed team shooting event.

But, before I talk about Sarabjot, a short detour and a story on Kobe Bryant, the legendary basketball player, who tragically passed away in his prime, a few years ago.

Very early in his career, Kobe was recognized as an exceptional talent. In his very first at the NBA playoffs, in a crucial game, Kobe had three chances to win the game for his team. Ironically, he missed all three chances, and the team lost.

As soon as the game ended, the spectators, the commentators saw a young Kobe, sitting down on the bench, with his hands behind his head. All the pundits were wondering about how low Kobe must be feeling.

After a few minutes, as Kobe made his way back to the change room, one of the commentators thrust a mic in front of Kobe and asked him about his feelings at not having won the game for his team.

He said, “What does feeling have to do with how I lost the game? I was sitting down and analysing why I missed those three shots in the last minute. I now know why I missed those shots. I can now do something about it”.

Kobe’s response is an eye-opener...and a great lesson on handling disappointments.

Setbacks in ones life is a given.

Be it as a student, in your work life or in your personal life. Setbacks very frequently push you back emotionally. One tends to linger on the missed opportunities and in the process ruin your present as well. This is a very natural reaction. What becomes challenging and hinders progress is one's inability to get out of this negative spiral quickly.

And this is where I would like to bring in Sarabjot Singh.

Sarabjot displayed remarkable ability to bounce back from a setback at the Paris Olympics. He was a strong contender for an individual medal in the 10m pistol shooting event. He missed qualifying for the finals by a whisker. Sarabjot had less than 24 hours to recover from the setback and prepare for the mixed event with Manu. He partnered with Manu and secured a Bronze in the mixed team event.

When interviewed after his elimination in his favorite event, he was calm. He said, despite his best effort, it was just not his day. He said he would analyse his performance and come back stronger for the team event….and come back he did!!

The best athletes and leaders are the ones who are able to let go of the setback and start focusing on “What next”?

What is your coping strategy?

1. Getting emotional is natural. However, you have to work beyond the emotions. And sooner, the better. Some tend to focus their feelings on personal blame. The anger is directed “inwards”. Others may turn the anger “Outward”, blaming others for their misfortune.
2. Allow the feeling of disappointment to be expressed, acknowledged.
3. Take responsibility for your actions or lack of it that landed you in this situation.
4. Analyze as to what went wrong. Were the course of events predictable and under your control. If yes, what can you learn from the event. If not, why bother?
5. And once you have got the emotions out of the way, the next step is to ask, “what next?”. Focus on the immediate task ahead, be it preparing for the next big order, next big deliverable. And in the process, analyse as to what went wrong, the lessons learnt, the changes that you need to make, should the same situation arise once again.

Disappointments are inevitable and unpleasant — a missed promotion, a failed project, a relationship that has not ended well. You can always learn something from them.

And remind yourself of what’s going well in your life, and count your blessings. Do not let the disappointment take an oversize role in your brain. It might sound like a cliché, but keep the setback in perspective — and try to let it go.

And that’s why Sarabjot at such an young age gave us an important lesson on handling setbacks at the Paris Olympics.