My fascination with Tennis started a long way back…The reasons were: Its knack of always producing legends in duos, and thus treating us with the most famous rivalries of all times…in each era; and its being one of the loneliest sports with a rare combo of elegance and charm…and…
…Steffi Graf!
(No marks to guess the sequence of importance 🙂 !)
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I always relished watching tennis, but never played it. Somehow, right from childhood, it got positioned as a rich man’s prerogative and ordinary man’s aspiration! So, here I was…a skinny kid often found peeping through the wires meant to guard a tennis court adjoining our colony’s end-road!
…admiring a game which (in Agassi’s famous words) mirrors life in many ways! Be it its lingo (Serve, Fault, Advantage, Love etc.) or its structure (points, games, sets and match are almost arranged as days, months, years & life), there is a striking resemblance with the grand twisted design of our architecture!
So! Hungry for more three-dimensional soaking-up of Tennis, I befriended a guy who was much elder to me but was a member of the Residency-club…and the prince of its court! He was almost a pro…with starched clothes and stony palms (I always preferred a ‘Hi’ than a handshake with him)…
On weekends, they would play a mini-tournament and he would always end up either winning it or being finalist. On one such evening, after he won…I asked “How does it feel?”
He answered… “Good! But you know…actually today I didn’t deserve to win, as I played pretty average Tennis!”
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Huh! How many of us ask ourselves after a win… “Did I deserve it?”
Note: Well! I don’t know whether that guy stuck to the sport or not, but I am sure he would be doing well in life…he had what it takes – the Sportsman Spirit!
About Sandeep Atre
Dr. Sandeep Atre:
• Counseling Psychologist and an internationally recognized ‘Emotional & Social Intelligence’ Expert, with experience of more than two decades in helping people ‘sort out’ and ‘excel in’ intrapersonal and interpersonal matters. He holds a PhD in Management and a Master’s degree in Psychology (www.dratrecounsels.com).
• Founder of Socialigence – a venture specializing in development of ‘Social & Emotional Intelligence’ and its offshoot interpersonal skills through workshops and an award-winning online course rooted in neuroscience and psychology (www.socialigence.net).
• Author of two books related to his domain, namely - “Understanding Emotions Logically” and “Observing Nonverbal Behavior”; and third book on various aspects of life, named “Two Paras of Everyday Wisdom”. Moreover, the collection of his Nazms and Ghazals is published as a book titled “Baat Jazbaat Ki”.
• Corporate Trainer, with experience of close to two decades. Has conducted 150+ workshops/sessions for 50+ organizations & institutions like CSC, Cummins, Piramal, Ranbaxy, Lupin, Bridgestone, Michelin, Eicher, Maruti, Force, Idea, Airtel, NBHC, SBI, HDFC, L&T, Zydus, Thapar University, Banasthali, Narsee Monjee, Symbiosis, IIFM Bhopal, Azim Premji University, Nirma, Welingkar & IBS Hyderabad.
• Co-Founder and Director of CH EdgeMakers – a leading ‘Coaching and Training’ organization of central India for more than 24 years. He has trained close to 100 thousand students for ‘Soft Skills’ & ‘Entrance & Recruitment Preparation’ (www.ch-india.com).
• ‘Management Speaker and Orator’. Has featured at platforms like TEDx, IIM, IIT, NIT, CII, YI, CII-IWN, TCS, IMA, ICAI, ECA, ISHRAE, NEN, Sahodaya, Aditya Birla Education Academy, Round Table, LinkedIn Local, Rotary International, MP State’s Teachers’ Training, Academic Staff College DAVV, Police University Rajasthan, Police Training Academy Indore & more than 100 institutions.
• Member of noted associations and boards. Has been an ‘Executive Committee’ member of Indore Management Association. Associate Editor of IMA publications. Governing Council Member of Banasthali University’s SBBJ Centre for Research in MSME & Promotion of Entrepreneurship in Women. Executive Member of IMS, DAVV Alumni Association. Member of Rotary International’s ‘Group Study Exchange’ team to Minnesota, USA. ESI Coach with FWSA Australia.
Note: For glimpses of work, watch YouTube Channel ‘Dr. Sandeep Atre at Socialigence’.
