This evening I was playing tennis with my friends and experienced something very inspirational that I would like to share. We were just hitting as we were short of a player. Someone noticed that from the courts on the other side and offered to join us to make it four. As I see him come closer, he is a very elderly man (may I say an old man and I don't intend any disrespect). We introduced ourselves and this man started playing with us.
As he started playing, he changed the tempo of the entire game. He has fantastic reflexes and comes on to the net all the time. He has great movement and reach on the court and takes advantage of it. He didn't have any great tennis shots in him but he knows exactly how to play and win a point. I started feeling little frustrated and as we took the first break after he joined I started a conversation with him. Learned that he is an Indian visiting his son here in U.S. He is 74 year old and retired. He was a principal of an Engineering college before he retired. It was just amazing to see this man so healthy, happy, and eager to play. More than that, what I realized in the conversation is that he knew exactly what his limitations are and what he is good at. He knows how to win a point by still playing withing his limitations. He admits that he doesn't have a range of shots but I felt he could easily win a match against me.
As I started reflecting on that encounter, couple of things stuck out to me. Know your strengths and limitations and play within your limitations. And did I say, age is all in your head and not really a function of how old you are... I sure learned something new from this gentleman today. Thank you!
