Maxwellian character

Though human life inherently lacks a universally applicable blueprint for smooth sailing and triumphant living, the creatures and natural environment around us hold messages that we can make use of. However, the life stories of individuals and groups, due to their proximity and familiarity, contain the most relevant lessons for us to learn from. History, mythology and modern literature are replete with characters that turn the tides of life and sail through them to victory. Glenn Maxwell, the Australian cricketer, exhibited the character whose endurance against all odds turned an impending defeat into a momentous victory.

After falling at the critical moment of the match, he chose to stand up and fight with cramps. Maxwell had a genuine reason to give up; nevertheless, his determination pushed him to give it, once again, a fight. That he couldn’t run, that he only had the option of boundaries, and that all hopes were pinned on him couldn’t deter his remarkable resolve.

Had he decided to give up, which he had a genuine reason for, Australia couldn’t have made it to the momentous victory. The confidence and energy he gathered in the historic inning of the Cricket World Cup hardly have any parallel in modern times. In fact, Maxwell recreated the mythological character of Hercules and Friedrich Nietzsche’s Übermensch. The victory that Maxwell snatched isn’t Australia’s cricket alone; it is, in fact, a revival of trust in self-confidence, endurance, and life itself. His performance is full of lessons to learn.

First, falling down doesn’t fail us; deciding against getting up does. When we give up the thoughts of giving up, we give up the failures. Second, no excuse or even a genuine reason can stop us unless we let it. When we choose to face the imagined or real hardships coming our way, we neutralise their resisting power and ultimately surmount them, only to be welcomed by success. Third, no opportunity or attempt, regardless of the quantity of effort we put in, should be undervalued or taken for granted. Even if efforts fail to bring us the expected outcomes, they push us a bit farther from the failures in the long run. Therefore, every opportunity is worth pursuing and making efforts for.

Fourth, being short of resources or potential shouldn’t be taken as a conclusive sign of defeat. This is because it might delay our success, but we can barely deny it if we fail to give up. Therefore, instead of expecting what we don’t have for success, we need to put all our efforts into what we have at our disposal. Fifth, our success sustains itself and is valued when we undergo the required process and dare surmount the otherwise insurmountable. The success achieved through hardship pays the person and society in the best possible manner. Last but not least, self-confidence in life and the will to resolutely endure against failures make one immortal by making us a lasting source of inspiration for others.

We mainly earn success in two ways in our lives: by learning from other people’s lives or by personally enduring failures and emerging triumphant. Though the former might be an easier trek to success, it is, for many, the least trodden. While the latter, despite being thorny, is the overcrowded path in our society. Why is it that most of us, instead of minimising failures by learning from others’ lives, choose to increase them by experiencing them in uncharted waters? This is perhaps because we are, in many instances, less inclined to own what comes with relative ease. Also, we are likely to overestimate our abilities and efforts so much that we do not bother to seek lessons from others’ lives. This way, we add to our failures.

Nevertheless, failures serve our causes one way or another, unless we take them as such. We often view obstacles, desperation or setbacks as failures and count them as final and detrimental. However, the way we respond to them is where we can find the key to success. As long as we struggle, learn, unlearn and relearn in life, we stand within the real realms of possibility for success in life.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2023.

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