Play your way up the learning curve

Foosball! I never understood it when I saw it. It looked silly and I couldn’t fathom the reason for all the excitement flying off the players (I thought Joey and Chandler were exaggerating it in FRIENDS). Then I tried my hand at it (for the first time at CitrusPay, 2 months back) and boy, I was terrible. The reason I write in the past tense is because I am not terrible anymore, I am well on my way to becoming terrific! The credit goes to what the game has taught me and some wonderful people I got to play with.

foosball

Let me share some of the lessons I learnt from this ‘silly’ game for gameplay, work & life:

  1. What looks silly, may not be all that silly. You need to give it time and attention in order to understand the underlying logic.
  2. Never start off by believing that you are bad at something. You can learn almost anything you want, if you focus on it.
  3. Do not give up too soon. Rome was not built in a day and miracles may not happen overnight. Practice and persevere with patience, you might be surprised by what you can do.
  4. Appreciate the talent in others. Play with those better than you so that your game gets better.
  5. Don’t be afraid to lose. You can’t learn to win without learning how to accept defeat. (This might sound clich éd. But its true)
  6. Play to Win! Winning is a mindset. Irrespective of what the end result is going to be, play like a winner, always. (I was on the verge of giving up on it when I changed my mindset)
  7. Mentor other players. Imparting your knowledge of the game and developing other players only makes you better.
  8. Don’t rest on your laurels. You might be the champion but the next challenger is just around the corner. So, keep learning and be humble.
  9. Play because you Love to play! Victories and defeats keep happening but that ‘fire’, that ‘passion’ for what you do, will keep you going.
  10. Be in the moment. Whatever you choose to do, be it playing a sport, singing a song, dancing, writing or building a space ship, be in the moment and give it all you have. You will be an artist creating a masterpiece.

So friends, if you haven’t already, roll up your sleeves and try a game of Foosball! Trust me, it’s worth it.