“Do not be quick to tip your king, Phiona. You must never surrender.” Coach Robert.
Phiona, a 14 year old, from Uganda and her story made me want to write this today, about how I felt after watching the movie, Queen of Katwe, based on her life-story.
‘Challenges’ is what I’m going to talk about. Everyday is a challenge and in everyday there are many challenges. A few of them we know how to deal with so we immediately attend to it with full confidence and a few we procrastinate because we have our reasons. Some we see it coming and others just throw us in an uncomfortable place. Then we do everything in our capacity to make it comfortable for ourselves. Even if that means putting away the challenge or acting like it doesn’t exist. When it’s new at first it’s a challenge and as we keep putting it away it becomes a problem.
Phiona is very strong headed like her mother and it just puts me in an embarrassing situation just thinking of all the challenges they fought head on in their lives, which makes my problems look so made up. Made up or may be I just don’t plan how to take on my challenges and not let it wait.
We must plan, plan and we must plan. The kids in Katwe had to plan for when there would be rains or when there is drought. Their Coach taught them to take this planning for a challenge attitude to their game of chess. If everyone took a challenge like what it is and planned for it, he or she would definitely beat it with necessary action.
I have a challenge of getting stressed out in a certain situation and instead of planning I am literally running into that situation over and over again. I haven’t really planned anything on how I am going to react to a situation like that, the next time it’s coming. Which means I’m not prepared even though I’ve experienced it more than a million times. I don’t even see it coming until its happened and I’ve given the same old reaction.
I am enjoying the comfort in not having to deal with it. I am not looking at the damage it’s causing, my health and my reaction is causing to other people. So first step is to really study the situations coming, like how Coach Robert says
“Slow it down. Think it through. Then you will see their traps coming.”
Once you’ve seen the trap then we use the plan. When we see our plans succeeding and challenges overcome, the joy of all the hard work is unmatchable to anything. May be that’s how I felt when I saw the movie; I could feel that joy. This movie and her attitude to life makes me want to meet my days with more grace and far-sightedness instead of being ungrateful and cribbing about having to deal with things. Every one has to meet challenges in their own ways and we must not give up. To each one of us “Do not be quick to tip your king, …. You must never surrender.” Coach Robert
P.S. Watch the movie if you havent. Queen Of Katwe