The Power of a Comeback

"The hardest steel is forged in the hottest fires" - Anonymous

There are times, in fact umpteen number of them, when we find ourselves down and out. At times, we are about to lose something; and many a times, we also feel to have run out of time. Even worse is, when we sometimes find our hope depleted and our back up against the wall. Negativity and desperation are writ large in such situations and we seldom succeed to find meaning in the proverbial wisdom - 'Nothing is ever lost nor can ever be lost'. At such juncture, we are left only to expect for a miracle that might reverse the inevitable!!

In literature, the word 'Comeback' is attached with varied connotations. A comeback may mean a sharp or witty reply, typically a retort. Apart from that, the word is also used to connote to recovery or revival, with reference to regain a former favorable condition or position (to recover from a deficit in a contest or competition). There can be no denying that, this particular word, when used in either of the said contexts, evokes powerful emotions and invokes a sense of excitement, triumph, confidence and positive self esteem.

Unfortunately, the power of comebacks is often underrated. As a matter of fact, the intrinsic power of comeback can be harnessed as an effective psychological tool to develop essential cognitive skills and actions of resilience, wisdom, empathy and optimism. As the famous adage goes - 'Every setback is just a setup for the comeback'. What feels like the end of our journey is, in reality, the preparation for our next challenge. Trials of life are inevitable and that is what fortifies us. Making a bigger comeback than ever, would probably be the only upside to things getting challenging.

As I recall a particular anecdote from my life, I am amused to believe in the power of comebacks. It is about how, despite all odds, I was able to secure an admission into a premier college of the Delhi University.

After completing my Class -XII, I was keen to take up the subject of English (Hons.) and pursue a career in journalism. Even though I used to score exceptionally well in the English subject during my pre-board examinations, but as fate would have it, I was awarded just passing marks (still keep wondering how could it have happened) in the final examination. Unfortunately, not securing the requisite cut off mark for the said subject rendered me ineligible to apply for the discipline of English Hons in any of the colleges of the University. I was completely devastated. It felt as if my dreams were put into ashes.

It had now boiled down to securing a seat in any other discipline at least at a reputed college in the North Campus of the Delhi University, the most sought after choice for pursuing graduation courses back then. The competition for cut-offs for all the disciplines was fierce. My overall grades had already taken a toll because of the poor score in the English subject. Now, my last bet to compensate for the deficit score and secure a seat in a North Campus college, was to apply for the same through sports quota. Since, I had played the Table Tennis Nationals Tournament, I was eligible to apply for the sports quota. Apparently, this was my only chance to get through one of the colleges at the infamous North Campus.

I had completed the requisite formalities. The dates for trials were announced and I hardly had any occasion to get some practice. I was out of touch. On the day of the trials, the match draws were out. I had to play against one of the top players of the north zone. He had handed me defeat in couple of previous encounters we had during open tournaments, which I used to participate during my school days. I knew for sure, I had slim chances of victory against him. Even then, I was conscious of the history of major upsets that goes around in sports. Having played a good deal of competitive sports during my time, I always believed that it can be anyone's game at the end of the day. However, that day, I was surely the underdog.

My opponent's level of game was definitely a notch better than mine. The thought of previous encounters, which did not result in favorable outcome for me, had crossed my mind few times. My legs were shaky, palms sweaty, and the blood pressure high. However, my only focus was to 'get into the zone'. Now, this is a technique, used by many sports athletes, wherein being 'in the zone' equates to a psychology theory about states of flow. The concept of ‘flow’ was coined by Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and describes a situation where there is a balance between the challenge level of the task and the skill level of the performer, and the person is absorbed in the task, not focused on the result.

As I started to enter the arena, I definitely hoped for an upset. My opponent apparently seemed relaxed, as he already had the psychological advantage, if nothing else. He did pass a subtle smirk at me while shaking hands during the toss. We had few practice knocks and he was definitely in fine nick. That, however, did not deter me as I was only focused on the game and wanted to deliver my best.

As the game progressed, history started repeating itself. I was already down 2 sets out of the 7 sets (the game format was - Best of 7). I was clueless. I was struggling to find the rhythm. I just remember that I kept saying myself only one thing - It's not over yet!! I reflect on my mistakes in the last sets. However, the pressure was mounting, as he was inching closer to victory having won the first 2 sets. I knew that I had to do something different than the usual to stand a chance against him.

We go into the 3rd set. I approached it with an attacking style, delivering a flurry of top spins and aggressive counter attacks. As I had not played that sort of shorts in the previous sets, I was unable to control the shots and ended up committing a lot of unforced errors. I had lost the 3rd set too. Though my improvised strategy didn't bring the desired result, which I had expected, but I could sense that it had definitely caught my opponent off guard.

As I was getting ready for the 4th set, I had the premonition that if I manage to win that set (4th set), I might edge my opponent out. I proceed to the table with regained confidence, and pass an overtly fake smirk to my opponent in a bid to unsettle him. It did not go well as he evidently laughed it off, thinking how foolish of me to even pull that off, after having lost 3 sets.

As the 4th set progressed, I started to find my shots on the table and miraculously clinched the 4th set to my name. I had found the rhythm. I had pierced into my opponent's defense. I had sensed his weakness. As dramatic as it may sound, I went on to win the remainder sets and clinch the game in my favor. I had caused one of the greatest upsets in the history of Table Tennis Trials. I had secured a seat in one of the best colleges of Delhi University. It took me almost 2 days and few bottles of beer to sink into that reality. I don't know if it was a pure stroke of luck or a display of grit and composure, but I had made one of the greatest comebacks in my career, so to say.

I hope this anecdote is a reminder to all of you for all the great comebacks you would have made or are making at different stages of your life. As we brace ourselves at the mercy of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must remind ourselves of the power of comebacks and how we can better harness that to deal with the challenges we are faced with. There's nothing better than building a career on survival skills, which can be honed by being good with fast comebacks.

Always stay the course and believe in yourself, you will discover the power to reverse the irreversible in your life!!

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