Time flies. It feels like just yesterday Gaurav Modwel and I were standing in the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel in Mumbai, talking about how sports management education in the country needs a drastic improvement. That was February 2017. It is now November 2022, and we have not only successfully established India’s first industry-designed sports management education institute, but we also recently kicked off our fifth year of the program. Global industry stakeholders have applauded GISB for its innovation in education, and the institute has helped over one hundred individuals create careers within the sports industry, among other accolades.
I am so grateful that I chose to act on that conversation in 2017 versus letting it be another interesting discussion that dies upon the goodbye. My work on and association with GISB has transformed my life. It has given my sense of purpose, decades of industry experience and expansive network a place to live and play. It has connected me with some of the brightest minds and biggest hearts in sport and given us a platform to nurture the next generation of sports industry leaders.
None of this would have been possible without action. Action is the vehicle that transports a plan, idea, relationship, etc., from one place to another. It is the necessary ingredient in the creation of anything worthwhile. Everyone knows this, but why is taking action so difficult for some people? This is a question that I am exploring through my professional coaching course, research and while working with clients. Also, my wife is a therapist who understands how past trauma impacts an individual’s ability to progress. She is helping me see that there is typically more going on behind the scenes when clients talk about “being lazy” or label themselves as “a serial procrastinator.”
I am a doer. It is a part of my nature. When I want to create or complete something, I make a detailed plan and start taking action. This is how I ran a marathon, published a book and set up GISB. Heck, nearly everything I have created or completed has happened thanks to a plan and daily action. It may not sound sexy, but action achieves results. And the high I get from manifesting something that I have envisioned makes me feel more alive than nearly anything else in the world.
This is why it is so challenging for me to fully grasp why some people do not act when they know it would make them feel better. I have realised, though, that inspiring or motivational words are not sustainable. Nor are forceful words. As a coach, we must meet our clients where they are and support them in taking that critical first step. I am working on this. Intentional about becoming a mentor and coach who can empower clients versus push them. It has not been an easy journey, but I am making progress. Through active listening, mirroring, brainstorming and several other techniques and pathways, I am finding that clients can identify their blind spots and access the courage and conviction to take a step forward. And as I like to remind my students and clients, ‘with each step the view changes.’
I by no means have ‘figured it out’ yet, but I am ready to spend the rest of my life learning how to work with people in a way that can help shift default behaviour patterns so they can live a life worth living.
