Monday, July 13, 2009

IT IS A ROUGH ROAD THAT LEADS TO THE HEIGHTS OF GREATNESS


Excuses for failure, excuses about your choices in life, excuses about what you feel you have accomplished fuel dysfunctional thinking – and consequently, undesirable actions and behaviors.

Making excuses instead of taking one hundred percent responsibility for your actions, your thoughts, and your goals is the hallmark of people who fail to succeed.

Part of the power of taking responsibility for your actions is that you silence the negative, unhelpful voice in your head.

That will the advice to the management and coaching set up of the National team as they return from another poor outing, a dismal 4th placing in what is perceived as the 3rd Division of World Hockey.

The focus now will be on the type of remedies, if any that the Malaysian Hockey Federation will try to arrest the steady decline of our hockey fortunes. Much has een documented, seminars held, heads have rolled, but the sad part is nothing has really changed.

Without hands on leadership, most strategic plans will end up as dead pieces of paper as cynicism increases when those in the lower echelon see that the plan is being ignored, or even violated.

The outcome of this is that genuine leaders suffer a loss of credibility. And this can best describe the happenings at the Malaysian Hockey Federation.

It is an open secret that Malaysian hockey fraternity is divided, for some years but the divide became wider last year. There was some good that came out of it, but many are aware that personal interests were put ahead of the nation in the clamor for change.

Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah is in a difficult situation but not in a hopeless position. For he can either play to the gallery, as has been the case for the past few months, or take the bold move to end the various conflicts, be it within the MHF hierarchy or the various teams.

To him I offer this advice, “part of the power of optimism is the result of changing the outlook of the little voice in your head. Constantly looking at the negative and seeing no options when situations go awry, negative self-talk limits your success. Positive self-talk expands your ability to achieve, to learn, and to accomplish.

An optimistic belief in yourself and your capabilities to positively impact situations, even ones that appear negative, fuels success.

While some may feel that it would be naive to think the Tengku Abdullah can end this “conflict” within his own set-up, it can help defuse the contagion of mini-conflicts based on clan, camp or personal differences, which fuel civil wars within MHF.

But at the same time force, even in the name of honor, is always tragic as he may have to let some of those who brought him into MHF go. That is why it is important that he use the strength of wisdom and conscience. Only that power can nurture peace in this difficult time for Malaysian hockey.

From the national context, hockey could be used as a tool to help build a culture of peace and tolerance by bringing people together on common ground, across national and other boundaries, to promote understanding and respect, and Malaysia is testimony to that fact.

Lets truly practice the 1Malaysia concept rather then just preach about it.

Lets roll....