Over the last few days there has been a number of phone-in’s (how tedious!) and comments in the media about the combination of various atrributes to explain success in Sport, in particular, but I would think it equally a maxim appropriate for success in life.
The 3 attributes have been variously articulated as ability, practice, attitude, motivation etc. but to me the 3 key areas can be summed up as Skills, which include natural talents plus the practice and dedication to improving those skills; Commitment, which to me is the attitude, drive, emotion and motivation that an individual or team brings to bear on a specific match, contest or mission and Luck, the seemingly random occurence of events that influence the outcomes of day to day activity, the impact of which has greater relevance for certain short periods of time but evens out over longer periods.
I am always reminded when thinking about luck of the famous Gary Player quote referring to the more he practices the luckier he got, which in the context of the above was in my view more of clear message that skills can and are improved through dedication and practice, often beyond the level that seems to be ‘normal’ to us regular folk!
The 3 factors in my view have direct relevance in much of sport and in my view the combination of the the 3 is what makes sport such a wonderful pastime to play and observe. If life and sport was simply about skill then the dimension would be somewhat limited but clearly it is the single most important factor but the interplay of the other 2 factors when skills are within a certain proximity make for interesting outcomes, probably seen most in team sports.
Two out three aint bad…would seem to be a good theme tune to some of the most exciting sporting shocks over the years. Even the Chelsea versus Barcelona match on the 24th April 2012 demonstrated that with great attitude, commitment and belief allied to some good fortune can triumph over a team with demonstrably greater skills. Chelsea are not as skillful but are by fact of their semi final status are close enough in proximity for the other two factors to give them the edge.
The skills can be honed on a training ground and in long dedicated focused effort on all aspects of a game but commitment is more ellusive and is much more a feature of personal circumstance, relationships, incentives, loyalty and motivation that is truly a winning combination that can be observed in many of the great individuals and teams in sport, business and other walks of life.
It would be great in you could bottle some commitment for use at an appropriate time 🙂
I wonder who possessed the best combination of skills and commitment in sporting history? There must be many candidates!