Blog # 2: “Vamos, Rafa!”
log # 2: “Vamos, Rafa!” Why Rafael Nadal is my sporting idol, and how we all can learn from him to make our lives better
Vamos, Rafa! Many who know me well know how much I love the Spanish word “Vamos” (let’s go!), and how much I love and admire Rafael Nadal as an athlete and human being. Rafa teaches me so much more than just about tennis. From the moment I laid eyes on him in early 2005 as he was playing tennis on the clay courts of Europe, I was fascinated by his grit, passion, determination, fighting spirit, sportsmanship, humility, love of competition, and incredible perspective about tennis as just a game in life.
As Wimbledon 2022 gets underway this week and Rafa is coming off yet another French Open championship (his 14th!), as well as his record 22nd total major championship, I figured this would be as good a time as ever to pay homage to my sporting idol. Who knows how many more years or tournaments I will have the pleasure of watching Rafa play, as he is 36 years-old and constantly battling injuries. It has been the greatest honor and privilege of my sports watching life to witness this era of incredibly high level of men’s tennis. The “Big Three” of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have been simply amazing these past 17-20 years, and we will likely never, ever see anything close to it again in tennis. Or perhaps even in sports in general. They have truly been astounding.
I could write multiple posts about what I love and admire about each of them, but this post will focus on my favorite: the one and only Rafa. Here are my top 7 lessons from Rafa that we can apply to all of our lives:
1)He never, ever gives up. Ever. There is simply no quit in Rafa. No matter if he is down two sets to none, no matter how badly he might appear to be beaten, no matter how exhausted he may be after five plus hours of grueling tennis, Rafa will never quit. That is such an amazing lesson for our own lives as we go through adversity and inevitably get knocked down. I try to remember Rafa when I am beat down or life has shaken me to my core. Like Rafa, get up and keep trying. Never, ever give up. Don’t quit. Keep moving forward, no matter how slowly.
2)Rafa is constantly looking for ways to grow and adapt and make changes. You would think someone with the most major championships in men’s tennis history would be fine and complacent. Not Rafa. He always wants to make small tweaks and get better. He came in as a clay court specialist and he has worked tirelessly to adapt his game to become great on hard court and grass as well. As he gets older he is playing shorter points and much more aggressively (since his body can’t take as many insanely grueling points). What a lesson for us all! We all have to continually adapt and grow and evolve in this dynamic world. I know that I, as an educator or husband or father, must always look for ways to make changes. I am someone who is resistant to change and naturally loves stability, but Rafa has helped me try to be open to scary changes. When I am anxious about change, I try to remember Rafa.
3)Rafa never focuses solely on winning. I am always amazed in his interviews how he emphasizes the process of working hard, making changes, staying healthy, and having fun much more than he does winning. He has an unbelievable ability to focus on the process over the end product. Rafa always talks about day by day, poco a poco (little by little) doing the little things to improve. He always says if he does those little things, the winning will take care of itself. What a great lesson for us! If we can get ourselves to be fully immersed in each step of the process and not so fixated on the end product, my hunch is we would be happier, more engaged and present, and likely have even better results anyway. I am often quite results-driven, but when I think of Rafa, it helps me to stay present in each step along the way.
4)He never takes his success and fame for granted, and he always maintains a healthy perspective. Rafa has never broken a racquet in anger because when he was young his coach and Uncle Toni hammered in the fact that not everyone around the world is as lucky as he is to even have racquets and play this great sport. Rafa has won the sportsmanship award multiple times. He also knows he is only playing tennis; the stakes are not life and death. He is the greatest sheer competitor I have ever seen on any athletic field or court, but at the end of the day he knows there are more important things than winning a tennis match. What a lesson for us all– may we all realize we probably have more than others (even though we always want more!), be grateful for what we do have, and keep our minor (or even sometimes major) setbacks in proper perspective.
5)He always respects his opponents and tries to learn from them. I never hear Rafa talking smack about others. He also only compares himself to himself. He looks for the good in his fellow competitors. He never talks about wanting revenge to avenge a big loss. He says he never thinks about revenge– he just focuses on himself. In addition, Rafa always says he is not obsessed with ending his career with all of the records or winning more than Federer or Djokovic. Rafa only compares himself and to the person he was the day before. He just wants to be the best version of himself. I know I am so much happier and more successful when I just try to be the best Jake, not a Jake who is better than others. As a super competitive person, that is a very hard thing for me to do, but I try to remember Rafa and only look inward.
6)He gives back. Rafa does so many great things off the court. He is big into charity. He always graciously signs autographs. He has a foundation to help youth. He treats everyone with genuine dignity and respect. Rafa realizes how lucky and fortunate he is and wants to help others. I have realized for myself, though my first inclination is often to want more, I am most content when I am giving something to others. When I start to feel selfish or wish I had more, I try to remember Rafa and get busy helping someone else.
7)He cares way, way more about being a great person than a great tennis player. This goes back to his amazing perspective. Rafa knows tennis is just a sport– the game of life is way more important. Rafa is so humble, so kind, and so moral. Those qualities matter more to him than merely hitting an insane topspin forehand. He always says he hopes he is more remembered as a good person than a great tennis player. May we all focus on being the best person we can, even more than being great at one skill.
So there you go– my top 7 reasons I love Rafa and how I believe that I and we all can learn from him.
May we all try as hard as Rafa to be the best versions of ourselves.
Vamos!!!!!!!!!!!!