Restructured victors: Redefining triumph beyond conquest
In the competitive landscape of India, the 11th standard for many middle-class households is akin to entering a warzone. This competitive mindset extends beyond academics and into professional and business life, even seeping into the creative fields where artists are judged by monetary success. However, the long-term effects of this win-at-all-costs coaching culture can be detrimental, leading to stress, burnout, and a narrow definition of success focused solely on trophies or exams.
A recent example of this can be seen in the case of Pramey, a student whose 97% score might seem impressive, but the pressure to perform even better can cause emotional and psychological damage. Similarly, another student's son scored 98.5%, but did not top the country, leaving some parents and students feeling disappointed.
Valorie Kondos Field, the former coach of UCLA women's gymnastics team, emphasizes the importance of producing champions in life without compromising on the human spirit. In her TED talk, she highlights the need to redefine success and avoid leading from a place where winning is the only metric of success. Kondos Field states that success should be defined individually and actions should align with goals to avoid producing broken champions.
The movie 'Sitaare Zameen Par', featuring Aamir Khan as a coach for a team of children with special needs, serves as an example of the importance of celebrating small victories and the human spirit. The coach in the movie teaches the importance of effort, growth, and the human spirit over focusing solely on winning.
Shifting towards a focus on holistic development and success involves changing the mindset from just winning to nurturing well-rounded individuals. This can be achieved by redefining success to include personal growth, emotional intelligence, creativity, resilience, and social skills alongside academic or sporting achievements. Embedding coaching cultures that emphasize reflection, feedback, and leadership through curiosity rather than command promotes balanced growth for individuals at all levels.
Promoting coaching as a developmental tool within educational institutions and sports organizations supports motivation, accountability, and thoughtful decision-making rather than results alone. Encouraging parents and educators to adopt a long-term view on success that respects individual pace and talents instead of pressuring children into a narrow "win-at-all-cost" approach also helps.
Creating such environments requires leadership and cultural change at all levels—coaches, teachers, parents, and institutions—to prioritize wellbeing and comprehensive development as measures of success. Kondos Field argues that it is possible to produce champions in life without sacrificing the human spirit. The message of the movie 'Sitaare Zameen Par' encourages a shift in perspective, emphasizing the importance of holistic development and the human spirit over mere victories.
In the end, it is the compassionate parents who understand the importance of nurturing their children's well-being and personal growth, rather than just focusing on academic or sporting achievements. As we move forward, it is crucial to foster an environment that supports the holistic development of our children, ensuring their success in life beyond just trophies and rankings.
family-dynamics can be impacted significantly as the competitive mindset in India extends beyond academic and professional life, affecting relationships within households; personal-growth and education-and-self-development are crucial aspects that should be included in the definition of success, to foster a diverse range of skills, such as emotional intelligence, creativity, resilience, and social skills, in addition to academic or sporting achievements.
