The 'M' Word?

In order to test the physical fitness and mental ability of young men around the country, the President of the country decided to conduct an experiment. He hired a very wise trainer, Mr.K and asked him to find out the 'fittest man in the country'. To give things a perspective, a local competition was held to shortlist 150 men. Mr.K sent out personal invitation cards to the men which congratulated them and mentioned the time at which they were supposed to be at the training arena. 149 students turned up in the morning at 05:30 the next day at the training arena and one of them was not invited to the training ground due non-disclosure of physical disability.

Various competitions were held to test the physical and mental ability. It was announced that the best 2 candidates at the end of all the tests would go head to head in the 'ultimo test'. It was a test in which one cannot sleep for 24 hours and then had to run 22 km at a stretch while solving 50 brain absorbing riddles. The competition took its course and 2 people were shortlisted, Mr. J and Mr. R. It was widely considered that Mr. J will win the award as he had proclaimed that he is the best in the world.

Fast forward to the day of competition, Mr. President himself came to see the final competition. A half hour before the competition was about to start, Mr.K announced that on humanitarian grounds, he was allowing the disqualified person to take part in the competition although he would be doing it on a separate track apart from the 2 qualified finalists. The final race began. Mr.J and Mr.R were almost running at the same speed and had completed the riddles. The finish line was just 1 KM ahead. Mr.K, being the wise trainer, added a twist to the race. He had dug up a huge pit just before 1 KM at the end of the track. Both the finalists fell into the pit. It was 50 feet deep and they only had a couple of knives to climb up. The remaining participants shouted and created a Mirage to give up. Both the finalists tried, but at the end took heed on what others were saying and gave up on climbing up. In such an event everyone turned to Mr.K, the trainer to decide upon the winner.

He declared that there could still be a winner and turned everyone's attention to the other track where the disqualified person was trying to get out of the pit. Everyone in the crowd yelled at him to stop the pain and just give up. Eventually, he did climb up the pit and completed the race. Everyone, including the President, was in a state of shock. They were very curious to know how someone having a disability completed the track.

Mr.K, then came forward to explain. He said not involving him with the rest of the crowd was part of a plan. From the Day 1, he was training him in a separate location and his competitor was only himself. He was always tasked to improve himself. As a result, he was able to complete the race. Everyone started applauding Mr.K and learned their lesson. Mr. President, however, was curious to know the disability. When asked the participant, he said he had a hearing disability and he was deaf. He said when everyone was shouting at him to give up, he assumed that they were motivating him. It gave him additional motivation to complete the race. Mr. President was really impressed and appreciated the intelligence of Mr.K to figure out the 'fittest man in the country'.

Lesson: People’s words can have a big effect on other’s lives. Think about what you say before it comes out of your mouth. It might just be the difference between winning and losing. Therefore, use the 'M' word to Motivate and not to create a Mirage.