The battle is in the mind and not the body

Some people see such signs and exclude themselves while others see it an include themselves. The key point however is this. No matter what people label you, it is useless without a personal vision for yourself. PHOTO | FILE 

In Summary

• No matter who you are, somebody somewhere sees you as a VIP.
• No matter what people label you, it is useless without a personal vision for yourself. If you have not been positioned as a VIP in your head, no amount of labels by others will make you one. That is why you see people with big titles behaving very badly sometimes.
• Anyone who grew up watching Mohammed Ali in the boxing ring will find it hard to watch modern day boxing. Ali brought the spice into every fight and his greatest weapon was not his fists but his mouth! He was as fast with his mouth as he was with his fists.

By WALE AKINYEMI
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Driving into JKIA as you approach the arrivals terminal  there is a parking lot on the left hand side which is clearly marked VIP.

Now there is no other categorisation. Just plain simple VIP. The question then arises, ’who is a VIP and who has been given the task of determining that someone is or is not a VIP?

To a student in the school, the principal is the highest VIP. If we are going to come up with a special classification on who should be a VIP it will trigger off a lot of debate. I’m sure that my children see me as a VIP regardless of how any other person might see me.

No matter who you are, somebody somewhere sees you as a VIP.

Now back to the airport. Some people see such signs and exclude themselves while others see it an include themselves. The key point however is this.

No matter what people label you, it is useless without a personal vision for yourself. If you have not been positioned as a VIP in your head, no amount of labels by others will make you one.

That is why you see people with big titles behaving very badly sometimes.

MOHAMMED ALI THE GREAT

Conversely if you have positioned yourself and carry yourself like the VIP that you are, then no amount of exclusion from VIP parking lots or labels from people can diminish the air of importance around you. Its all about how you position yourself mentally.

Anyone who grew up watching Mohammed Ali in the boxing ring will find it hard to watch modern day boxing.

Ali brought the spice into every fight and his greatest weapon was not his fists but his mouth! He was as fast with his mouth as he was with his fists. Some of my favourite Ali quotes are:

“I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark. I’m not the greatest; I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ‘em out, I pick the round.. I should be a postage stamp, because that’s the only way I’ll ever get licked. I’m beautiful. I’m fast. I’m so mean I make medicine sick. I can’t possibly be beat.

Before a fight with someone, Ali would already have launched the offensive with his mouth. Before fighting Joe Frazier Ali had this to say:

“Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head. He should donate his face to the U.S. Bureau of Wild Life.”

Before fighting Sonny Liston:  “Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can’t talk. The man can’t fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he’s gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons.

On George Foreman: “I’ve seen George Foreman shadow boxing, and the shadow won.”

“It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.”

Now what did Ali mean to achieve by the verbal warfare he launched before the fight?

MENTALLY WEAKENED

He was establishing his position in the mind of the opponent. He was making a statement that would help him on the day of the fight.

The statements were not to make him stronger. The statements were to weaken his opponent where it mattered most — in the psyche.

Once you are weakened mentally there is little else you can do. The battle of the mind is the greatest battle for anyone to win.

Ali had established a position in the mind of the opponent before he threw the first punch. 

The opponent came into the ring defensive from the beginning. There were some really tough opponents like Joe Frazier and George Foreman but Ali never let the reputation of the opponent deter him from positioning himself.

There were even fights were as Ali was being punched he would taunt the opponent by encouraging them to hit him. He would ask, ‘is that all you’ve got? Come on hit me.’ 

So, don’t let the labels that people give you affect you in anyway. Speak up for yourself.

Tell yourself who you are and carry yourself that way. You may not be recognised as a VIP at JKIA.

Who cares? What is most important is that you are a VIP in your own head! 

Do have a lovely weekend!