Tag Archives: MS Dhoni

Dhak Dhak Dhoni

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Every person goes through moments in life where totally unrelated events,facts or occurrences form a sudden pattern in one’s mind revealing a totally new idea or concept.

I was reading Blink by Malcom Gladwell recently and something he outlined in his book suddenly gave me a totally different perspective. According to Malcom Gladwell’s research,when the heart rate of a person is between 115 beats and 145 beats even during stressful situations performance is optimal; beyond that your mind goes into overdrive and become mind-blind to reach a state of autism.This leads to “rush of blood” and foolish decisions.That is the reason why people are asked to take deep breaths during stressful situations as breathing in reduces heart rate and helps you think straight.

Okay,so now I have explained one fact. How is this relevant to the title of this article? “Dhak” is the Hindi word used to refer to heartbeat and Dhoni is the name of one of the most iconic Indian cricketers of all time.

Dhoni or MSD as he is otherwise referred to is known for his ice cool demeanor in crunch situations. After one more nail-biting run chase,he discussed his strategy to “get the heart rate down first” to then increase it near the finish line. After I read Blink,I understood the significance of what he said;when you remain calm and then up the ante suddenly, your opponent (particularly inexperienced players) is likely to lose composure and make mistakes which Dhoni could then capitalize on.

I am pretty sure that Dhoni would not have known the science behind the controlling of heart rate but nevertheless his razor sharp cricketing brain could see the connection.A valid reference point from this is that when one faces a dilemma of sorts in a pressure situation always strive to keep your heart rate down (by breathing in) to maintain mental clarity.

 

 

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2 Reasons Why Taking Risks Can Transform Your Life

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Here why you need to let go of that ‘stable’ mentality

Dhoni –who is arguably India’s most popular cricketer till date (barring Sachin Tendulkar) –radiates a kind of aura that few can replicate.In an age where most celebs have nervous breakdowns at the slightest hint of success or clutter,Dhoni is a model for those who are clueless about controlling the adulation. I have taken Dhoni as an example for this post as he is a shining example that many people can relate to and his name is synonymous with risk-taking.All his success stories seemingly stem from wild gambles but there is a method to his madness. In the recently concluded Test at Lord’s in England,Dhoni employed an unusual tactic of standing back to a spinner inviting the batsman to come down the track and possibly play a false shot.Most commentators were clueless about the strategy and only understood the significance after Dhoni explained about his tactics after the match. In the same match,Dhoni’s advice to Ishant Sharma to bowl bouncers to bait the batsmen into playing hooks/pulls was regarded as a master-move because India won the match.

 

Dhoni

This is the takeaway from this post for those of you who don’t understand the first thing about cricket  :–

1.Taking risks can be rewarding :There are always people who will praise you when you did something that they would never have dreamed of.Once in a while,one of the risks you take might not pay off and you will face a lot of criticism, but atleast you did something.

2.Risk Taking increases the fun-quotient in your life :If you closely look at people who take risks continually they have a lot of fun in their lives.Most self-actualized people are risk-takers.The rush that you get –when you see something materialize from a half-chance that you took–become a huge success,is something that has to experienced.The feeling is addictive and lends meaning to your life.

 

So..there it is my 2 reasons..Rewards and Fun….If you have any other reasons,please let me know in the comments section.

Photo Credit : jaymantri.com