“I have arrived” said Shanti Pereira, reflecting on her win after winning gold for the 200m Finals at the Asian Games.

She certainly has.

Shanti Pereira answered every challenge this year with blinding speed and resounding brilliance: SEA Games golds, Asian Athletics Championships triumphs, Asian Games silver in the 100m dash.

In August, 27 year-old Shanti Pereira became the first Singaporean to make a World Championships semi-finals after a stellar showing in the 200m. She also met the qualifying mark for the event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Like many Singaporeans, I have been following her phenomenal exploits these past two years.

I grew in greater admiration and respect for her after watching the incredible  interactive video   in the Straits Times, Breaking Barriers and an infographics How Pereira found her Speed.

In one of the best documentaries, I have ever watched on an athlete’s training, every aspect of her race was dissected, analyzed, corrected, and then practiced to perfection so that she can deliver according to plan.

According to her Portuguese coach, Luis Cunha,  “We try to control everything that we can to influence her performance.”

From ‘the Start’, ‘the Body Position’, ‘The Middle’, ‘The Foot’, ‘The Dip’, everything is scrutinized to cut down milliseconds and nanoseconds by Luis.

Psychologist Dr Harry Lim, dietitian Cheryl Teo, physiologists Vincent Yeo and Steve Chow and bio-mechanists Neo Xi and Desmond Boey arming Pereira and aiding Cunha.

They helped her improve her sleep and recovery patterns, watch her diet, guard her mental strength, and keep her focus for every race so that she can deliver as perfect as possible. She’s even fastidious about “the order I eat my food”.

Her mindset is calibrated to be adaptable in non-optimal conditions. Her “sleep hygiene” is monitored, like what time she puts away her phone before she sleeps.

Personally, Shanti had to overcome her constant self-doubts by changing her perspective, shutting out the negative voices and the nay-sayers.

Of course, her parents and boyfriend, who supported her throughout this journey, have contributed a great deal to her success.

Most of all, I see the making of a champion: The determination, sacrifice, perseverance, and commitment of all are truly unbelievable.

Truly it takes a whole village to build champions.

However, there’s a darker side to success: The Failure of Success.

This is a constant struggle for all champions.

I don’t mean to throw ‘cold water’ on her achievement or accused of being a pessimist.

Looking at the sporting career and life of Lance Armstrong, the ‘greatest sporting scandal of all time or the sensational Tiger Woods, whose fall from grace and recovery, are still unfolding.

Singapore’s swimming sensation, our only Olympic Gold Medalist, Joseph Schooling, who was caught for smoking cannabis, also makes me a wide-eyed realist.

Famous sports personalities,  like Naomi Osaka, Chloe Kim Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, have struggled with depression in the pursuit of success.

Success is a two-edged sword.

For every success, there is a dark side.

Success is a scary monster and all-consuming ogre.

As my son, Shun, a professional guitarist, Hall of Fame Holly Prize winner, celebrated by Quincy Jones (I was simply blown away by both his soul and his science – his creativity and his uniqueness is astounding.”) warned, “Music can save you or kill you.”

Listen to the song, Crazy made me, from his latest album, Homunculus.

The incessant call to ‘win at all cost’ and the relentless pursuit of the ‘Gold’ can take an immense toll on you.

The question is, How do you continue to be consistently successful, without falling by the wayside?

The truthful answer is: Almost Impossible.

Why?

Let’s explore the Failure of Success.

1. Everyone wants a piece of you

Everyone loves champions.They make you believe you are not only the limelight but the blistering Light.

You are now the Poster not just the poster man or woman.

Shant’s Instagram account now has 17K followers, 1104 Following, 1039 Posts. I am sure these numbers will multiply significantly over the next few months.

People will not have enough of you. You are everyone’s property.

Yes, success brings you…

• Privilege seats.
• Special lanes.
• Wefies unlimited.
• Handlers ever ready to serve you.
• Unsolicited fans who hound you.
• Thousands of Instagram followers.

 

Everyone loves a winner. They hate losers.

Unfortunately, most Singaporeans have a ‘failure-adverse’ and ‘fail-to-recover’ mentality.

How long can you keep up your success? Some are waiting for you to fail.

When you lose, they have no qualm throwing you under the bus.

The truth is crowds are transitional and fickle.

They follow the wind, never reliable.

Don’t be surprised when the chant of ‘we love you’ will soon become ‘we loathe you.’ Their cheers will become jeers.

2. Media will hound you

You are now under intense scrutiny.

What you eat, how you eat, who you eat with, when you eat, will be insatiably monitored. The crowd will never have enough of you (at least for the next few months)

The IG, TikTok, X (Twitter) fanatics will harass you.

Every mistake, every unkind word, every wrong association, and every bone will be picked.

That’s the price of success.
Unless you have the mental strength and resilience to tunnel through the negativity, your mental health will suffer.

Unfortunately, bad news sells.

The world loves the gossips, half-truths and rumours.

Then, there are the green-eyed monsters of fellow competitors and detractors, who will sensationalize the bad news to bring you down.

Writing about Teong Tzen Wen’s struggle after his admission to consuming controlled drugs, resulting in public scrutiny, a fine and a month’s suspension, Rohit Brijnath, pens, “When a rising athlete stumbles, people mutter, the media wonder and the athlete hears it.”

Thankfully, Tzen Wen overcame the challenge, coming in second in the 50m butterfly in the Asian Games. He exorcised the ghosts, “It’s almost like something has come full circle and now I finally managed to prove to myself I still got it in me.”

Very few are like Tzen Wen.

3. Promoters will use you

Vogue’s editor Diana Vreeland’s motto was, “fake it, fake it…Never worry about facts. Project an image to the public. The art of success is to create a world as you feel it to be, as you wish it to be, as you wish it into being.”

Celebrity marketers will woo and cajole you with unrealizable promises and big bucks.

Advertising executives will give you offers you can’t refuse.

Many top brands will be throwing money at you.

The lure of the Almighty Dollar is too big to resist.

Of course, they persuade you with ‘it is good for your image’, ‘you are important to the target audience’, and ‘you are a role model to the young’.
Now, you are an instant influencer.

But remember, nothing comes free.

There will be greater demands on your time.

More interviews to give, more ceremonies to attend, and more prizes to be presented.

They will make unrealistic demands with empty promises of ‘more and more’.

They want you to tell your story of your successes and failures ad nauseam.

Once your glory days are over, you will become obsolete and obsolescent.

Because you have a limited shelf-life.

The ugly truth is you can’t say, ‘No’ to your sponsors.

You feel obligated and indebted to do one more shoot, one more interview until your soul gets numbed.

Soon, you have to fake it to make it.

That’s the world of advertisement.

The net result: You will be thoroughly distracted, with little time for you to do what you do best – practice, practice, practice in pursuit of perfection.

4. Emotional upheaval will haunt you. 

“Self-regulation is the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods; the propensity to suspend judgment – to think before acting.”^[i]

 Daniel Coleman

[i] Goleman, D. 1998. What makes a leader? Harvard Busines Review, Boston, Massachussetts, USA.

Champions are highly emotional beings.

They thrive on the adrenalin, the drive needed to endure the intense pains of training.

They live on dopamine, the arousal and stimulation neurotransmitter, to push and push.

But they have to find ways to keep in check: Epinephrine, the chemical involved in your body’s response to anxiety.

You go through emotional highs and lows, the ups and downs.

You live on the emotional sensations with all the accolades and attention.

But when you are alone, you feel the pangs of loneliness and isolation.

Then anxiety attacks kick in. Self-doubt resurfaces. Imposter phenomenon becomes very real. Depression slowly creeps in.

This is best described in the lyrics of Lucky performed by Britney Spears

“She’s so lucky, she’s a star”
But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking
“If there’s nothing missing in my life
Then why do these tears come at night?”
“She’s so lucky, she’s a star”
But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking
“If there’s nothing missing in my life
Then why do these tears come at night?”

The tears in the night are real.

Unfortunately, very few people care about you and your hidden pains and demons you are battling with.

The populace only wants you to set a new mark, win another gold. The more impossible, the better.

5. Tragedy can cripple you

“The mindset of loss of a loved one is to understand that

the loss will never be undone.

You must live with it, like it or not.

But, to live well, you must turn that loss into something positive.

That way, you can become the best version of yourself; scarred, flawed and unstoppable.”

Val Uchendu, Actor

I can’t help but think of Tiger Woods.

The early demise of his dad, who had been his close companion, mentor and guide, derailed his career and he never returned to his past glory.

Similarly, some experts have propositioned the same about Joseph Schooling, whose father had always been the steady hand of discipline, love and persistence.

The sudden death of his dad dwelt a serious blow to his swimming career, and it has gone downhill since his Olympic glory.

Sometimes, life takes a nasty turn on us.

6. Ego will kill you

“You must let the E-go”

Finally, with all the laurel and glory, ego can do a number on you.

Hubris is the greatest enemy of the successful. It will blindside you and finally, blind you.

Your unmanaged success becomes your failure. You find it difficult to let the ‘E’ go.

You become more critical, self-judging and less forgiving of yourself.

You are ultra-sensitive to criticism.

You stop listening to your coaches and family, especially when you can’t beat the next record.

You feel misunderstood, uncared for, and unappreciated.

You feel like a phoney.

You want to end it all.

Suicide becomes a distinct possibility.

How do you prevent your success from becoming a Failure?

1. Keep falling in love with your passion and keep recovering from failures

“I really fell in love with this sport again last year and this year and

I’m just embracing every opportunity I get, including this one.”
Shanti Pereira

Striving for success, loving your grinding routines and staying grounded will be one of the greatest challenges for successful champions.

The joy will soon dissipate. This pursuit of the illusive gold and greater glory will soon become meaningless.

Lionel Messi’s adage is worth remembering, “It is not how hard you fall but how fast and strong you come back.”

Champions need to remind themselves of the ‘Why’ they do what they do. Messi united a nation but also unified the team, all centered around healthy goals and a genuine, heartfelt purpose.

Keeping humble, realistic and staying focused on superior performance consistently is a gargantuan task.

2. Strengthen the relationship with those who matter to you

Relationship with your family, coach and boyfriend are foundational to the champion’s triumphs. Never forget them.

These relationships have to be nurtured constantly. Invest time with the close ones, who will understand you, keep you accountable, and make you feel loved regardless.

When the going gets tough, your coach and family members will see you through.  They are not the fair-weather crowd, the alluring advertisers, and the echo-chambers of social media.

They really love you.

Never forget those were there for you.

3. Find life beyond the sport: Purpose and meaning 

Allow me to illustrate the story of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell[i].

In the movie, Chariots of Fire, there were two determined runners in the 1924 Olympics in France.

Each ran with unbridled passion but with utterly contrasting goals. Harold Abrahams ran for personal glory and personal recognition.

Eric Liddell, the Scotsman, ran out of his commitment to excellence for God’s sake and a higher purpose other than himself.

Earlier in the story, Abrahams and a friend were conversing on the theme of winning and losing. His friend asked Abrahams how he handled losing.  “I don’t know,” Abrahams said. “I never lost.”

That told the story of a man possessed with a hunger to win.

Nothing else mattered except being number one.

Moments before his Olympic run, Abrahams suddenly realized when he made the most insightful confession to his friend. “You know, I used to be afraid to lose. But now I am afraid to win, I have ten seconds in which to prove the reason for my existence, and even then, I am not sure I will.”

The words reveal how most personal fame is a pursuit but when procured, leaves the possessor empty.

By contrast, Eric Liddell is reprimanded by his sister, Jenny, for vexing too hard to win the gold medal, thus disregarding things of greater importance.

His answer reveals the profound connection of all of life’s pursuits for him. He says, “Jenny, God has made me for one purpose – for China. But he has made me fast.  And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

The world of personal glory moves from victory to vanity, chasing after the wind, because it can never deliver contentment.

John D. Rockefeller, the founder of the Standard Oil Company, the first billionaire of the United States of America and once the richest man on Earth was asked by a reporter, “How much money is enough?” He calmly replied, “Just a little bit more.”

That is the dilemma of Abrahams.

After winning the 100 m, amidst thunderous cheers and standing ovations, there is a plunging tug of despondency and desolation.

Eric Liddell ran the 400m and won in a world record time.

One year later, he packed his bags and went on to China as a missionary for the next 20 years to fulfill a mission far greater than himself.

The gold medal was put in its rightful place.

His heart was completely at peace. He found fulfillment,

Shanti, don’t run just for yourself. Invest in something greater than yourself.

Perhaps, you will find true meaning and purpose in life.

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