Roger Harty: The Hawk

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EVERYONE at some stage will experience difficult circumstances in life.

In fact, difficult circumstances are part and parcel of living. Show me someone who has never had a problem and I’ll show you someone who hasn’t lived.

It’s not what happens to us in life that matters, what is of far more importance is how we react to what happens. That ultimately is the key to a happy life i.e. controlling our reactions.

To use sport parlance, the top coaches often talk about ‘Controlling the controllable’. Again amazingly enough we have to look to nature to get a classic example of this in action.

When criticism seems unfair, I believe it helps to remember the hawk. When attacked by crows, it does not counterattack. Instead, the hawk soars higher and higher in ever- widening circles until the pests leave it alone.

This really is a wondrous image to have. If we try something new or talk about a new concept then criticism is going to come hard and heavy as part of the package.

The trick is to copy the hawk, rise above the criticism and keep on going. Imitation is the best form of complement.

Time and time again we see examples of this in science, industry, sport and music. To pick one example of each off the top of my head- Einstein, Thomas Edison, George Best and Elvis.

In fact one of the greatest presenters of the modern era of broadcasting – Oprah Winfrey experienced severe difficulties and rejection in the earlier part of her career.

We need these people as examples in our lives to show us that overcoming criticism is part and parcel of the ‘Success game’

Could you for one second imagine how lonely and isolated Galileo felt when he proposed his theory that the earth was indeed round and not flat which was commonly believed up until then?

Galileo (1564 – 1642) proposed the theory of heliocentrism (that the sun revolves around the earth) thus resulting in the fact that the earth was round and not flat.

He was under instruction from Pope Paul V at the time to completely abandon the opinion that the sun stands still at the centre of the world and the earth moves, and henceforth not to hold, teach, or defend it in any way whatever, either orally or in writing.

As they say ‘the truth will out’ and he finally got his day with an official apology 350 years later from The Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992

Just like the image of the little bird constantly pecking at the shell of its egg success will eventually come to those who persevere and keep on going despite the criticism that will inevitable come.

“Stormy seas make a good sailor”

Next week I am going to write about – ‘When Cheap can be Expensive’

One Comment

  1. Very, very good!

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