.thesportsmansprayer.

Assalamualaikum.

Greetings.

I am entering my 8th month here as a postgraduate student and at the end of the 9th month, I am required to submit my First Year Progress Report. This report (alongside with the Annual Review/Interview) is considered as the key milestone to progress in this journey. The outcome of the report (and the review) will decide whether the student will continue the journey as a PhD student or continue as M.Phil student, or under worst case scenario, the student will be advised to abort the whole journey.

I have about a month to get  things settled. I have taken things so lightly and spent my time inefficiently during months 3 to 6. Every week was pretty much the same routine - prepare matters to be discussed with my supervisor; discuss; relieved and relax; and repeat the following week. In month 7, I realized that I made no significant progress, so I decided to give myself a slap and do something. I am grateful that my supervisor was really supportive and gave a lot of advice and suggestion to go about my struggle.

In times of despair, the faces of those who are rooting for me came into mind. Immediately, their words of hope and their expectations appear in front of me, beautifully encapsulated inside a huge bubble. And it is my greatest duty to not let that bubble burst by my unfit mindset and behaviour. One of my remedies would be "The Sportsman's Prayer:

"Oh God, please help me to win for I always want to win. But if in thy inscrutable wisdom Thou willest me not to win, then make me a good loser. For when the one great scorer comes to write against your name, he writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the game."

It is true (at least for me) that RMC has taught (read: indoctrinated) of how I perceive things. Two main points can be seen in the prayer. First, one must always have the desire to win or highly successful in anything that one do in life. Second, one must do their best regardless of whatever the outcome might be.


Wailalliqa' maassalamah.