It's the Spirit!

Human lives have four aspects: Mental, Physical, Emotional and Spiritual.

A well-rounded individual will seek to develop all four aspects of his/her live. Any aspect that is lacking will soon affect the other aspects and resulting in imbalance and unhappiness.

As I was watching the Olympic athletes dishing out their best in their respective competing fields in Beijing, I could not help but to take my hats off to them. To be able to be their countries’ flag bearers and compete in the international arena, they have put in countless years of practice and hardwork, not mentioning the obstacles and setbacks encountered along the way.

To be able to compete under pressure, the athletes need to be in their top-notch condition in all four aspects of their lives. Although the easiest to be seen is the physical aspect of the athletes – in fact, their performance is measured solely based on that – the other three aspects of lives play equally if not more significant roles in shaping their results.

China's national hero Liu Xiang was mentally, emotionally and spiritually prepared to take on the 110m hurdles event, but he failed in his physical aspect in that he suffered cramp at the beginning of the race. And so, his fellow Chinese supporters’ emotions and spirits were subsequently dented too.

During the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, as the athletes from around the world march into their respective rows, the TV commentator made a somewhat cruel but true statement: 90 per cent of the athletes there are going to go home without any medals, they might as well savor the glorious moments now.

If only three out of the ten contestants are going to get the top three medals, why are the rest of the athletes bother to take part? Yes, it’s the human spirit at play. Just like 95 per cent of the business start-ups fail within the first five years, why do people still trying? They don’t call it Entrepreneur Spirit for no reason.