Monday, June 08, 2009

Roger Federer Finally Beats His Biggest Foe

The 2009 Men's French Open Final wasn't the most exciting match I've seen, but it was the most significant. Before yesterday's final, Roger Federer spent the last 18 months shaken, tormented, and nothing short of human after spending 5+ years on top of the tennis world. Roger won his 14th Grand Slam in true championship fashion, and it wasn't against his rival, Rafael Nadal, or really even the giant slaying Robin Soderling, who vanquished Nadal a week earlier. Roger finally vanquished the biggest foe of all: himself.

The lesson is clear in the game of tennis, as it is in the game of life. The real battle with greatness is not your opposition on the other side of a net. It's really against yourself. We may silence all the external voices that tell us we're not good enough, or we can't make it. Deep down, we have to silence that self critic. When we do, we can go out there and just be who we were meant to be: a champion.

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