Being a 'big match player'!

No, I'm not talking about one of those numerous lingos that cricket commentators use on air, but yes I'm definitely referring to the pedigree of people they designate using the phrase 'big match player'. A big match player is basically someone who raises his performance to the highest level when the stakes are really high. They strike just when it matters the most and roar only when they know that the stage couldn't get bigger than that very moment. In short, these are people who take full advantage of crucial opportunities and make the most out of it.

On a normal day, a big match player wouldn't ideally be wasting his time and energy trying to impress the multitude. Instead he would be busy preparing and nurturing his skills for the big day. But how exactly does a big match player manage to deliver his best performance on the D-day? The secret lies in a sense of motivation and boundless energy that he feels on the big day. The feeling that he would have to face the toughest possible competitors boosts up his morale instead of making him nervous. Failure doesn't scare him one bit. The challenge of beating the best in the business makes him enter a zone of his own, a zone where he knows he is unbeatable. Pitch him against competitors of the highest pedigree and he would still consider them to be midgets. This sense of extreme confidence doesn't come from his past history but from an extremely charged up mindset which is competing only against itself, irrespective of the gap between the individual and the competition. However, at the same time a big match player knows the difference between being super-confident and overconfident. The reason why a big match player never veers into the territory of over-confidence is because at the back of his mind he knows that he would be facing just a single competitor, "he himself".

When an individual gets into the mindset of competing against oneself, the standards of performance cross all limits. There's a sense of aura around him which clearly distinguishes him from the rest and its easy to notice it on the big day. People react differently to crucial moments. Some go silent, some go into a shell owing to nervousness but a big match player is at his active best on the big stage. Extremely relaxed, calm and composed. Often you would noticed people who normally seem to be reserved, being extremely active on big occasions. That's because the magnitude of the event makes them feel at home. Psychologists say big match players need really tough challenges to perform at their level best. Mediocrity doesn't impress them. Its precisely the reason why some students with excellent grades end up nowhere in their professional lives whereas an average student ends up raking in the best of the jobs and speeding across the corporate ladder. Its all got to do with raising the bar on the big stage.

Human mind is a never ending mystery and so is the case of spotting big match players. Psychologists say that the only way of spotting big match players is by observing them on the big day. On normal days you wouldn't have a clue that they exist right amongst you. On being questioned on the process of being converted into a big match player, psychologists are of the opinion that its all in the mind of the individual. An individual needs to feel a genuine sense of supremacy from within to be termed a big match player. Its a skill that simply can't be taught! So in case you feel self-motivation is one of your strengths, be sure you pretty much have the traits of a big match player. Now whether you are able to leverage that on the big stage is a different case all together.