Stories to Coach With: A Leap of Faith

Often while coaching, we come across situations where clients have got stuck - feeling powerless to do anything to change. At such time a useful non-invasive coaching tool is storytelling.  According to Margaret Parkin, author of Tales for Coaching, storytelling can help clients to reflect on their own story in their own way, and search for what the message means to them personally. Here is a story I found recently. 

A Fighters Saga

Girisha is from Karnataka, the son of a poor farmer. Unfortunately, for Girisha, he had an impairment in his left leg which made him walk with a limp. Life was hard for Girisha whose father had to struggle to meet make ends to meet the needs for the family of five. Inspite of the hardship, his father always encouraged him to take up sport. With his father's blessings and his unstinting support, Girisha represented his school at 10 years of age. And this year, 2012, battling all odds, he was the winner of the silver medal for high jump at the Paralympic Games held in London!

This success did not come easily to him.

Though without a job to support him financially, Girisha actively pursued his passion for sports and participated in games meant for, and against able-bodied athletes. One day, someone noticed his passion and talents for sports and suggested he start participating in special games meant for the disabled. In this arena, competing against people who too were disabled, Girisha's potential came even greater to the fore, and he was selected to train at the Sport's Authority of India centre at Bangalore.

Those years were very depressing years for Girisha. Though he was winning medals at the nationals, nothing seemed to be working for him. Living alone in a big city like Bangalore, he struggled to manage his life and passion for sports. They were trying times. The money he received as financial support by an NGO just was hardly  enough to cover his living expenses, leave alone the expenses of an escort, and he had to do everything himself. Many were the times when Girisha felt intensely lonely and seriously thought of giving up sports and taking up a job instead. Fortunately for him, and for India, he was dissuaded from doing so by his coach Satyanarayana and motivated him to stay on and give the Parlympics a shot.

He did - and achieved the distinction of winning for India its first medal at the games. The silver medal he won happens to be only the eighth medal won by India at the games and the first in eight years.

And now the good times have started rolling for Girisha! The government authorities have decided to honour him with a Rs. 30 lacs cash award for his feat. As for his father, his faith in Girisha's potential and perseverance in supporting him inspite of financial odds, has been vindicated. Since the time he won the medal, Girisha's father's phone has not stopped ringing. The entire village had gathered at his house as soon as they heard the news, and they rejoiced with him. The people from his village have now decided to felicitate him with a grand reception on his return from London.

Girisha's ecstatic father has only one wish - he hopes his son inspires other parents to support their differently-abled children in taking up sport. Or any other vocation of their choice. Thoughtfully, he reminds them not to think of the hurdles - just as he has done all his life.