Did Bjorn Borgs self control create his success? I am Vince Schembri of WOWzer Technologies and one of my favorite sports personalities was Bjorn Borg, the Swedish tennis player, who won five Wimbledon titles, all straight in a row, and also six straight French open championships. Although he made it to the U S open final three or four times, he never won that one, but he was an incredible personality.
One of the things that is not well known about Bjorn Borg is that in his younger years, when he was a protege and he was considered an incredible talent, his temper and mouth were getting him into all kinds of trouble to the point where he was actually fined & suspended. Bjorn’s parents had to pull him aside and basically gave him a choice. They told a young Bjorn that if he wasn’t willing to control himself, he wouldn’t have the right to play tennis as it should be played a certain way.
Bjorn Borg decided to allow his playing ability to overtake his mouth, to the point where he became known as the “Iceborg.” That was his nickname because he would make absolutely no comments win or lose. The only time I ever saw him say anything was when he challenged a call with an umpire. He walked up to him and said, “Did you see the call?” He just stood there and did not say anything else. Again, Borg said, “Did you see the call?” Then, the umpire said, “Mr. Borg, return, or I’ll fine you. He just came back with “Did you see the call? I don’t know if he got fined or not, but he said it two or three times, then he went back. He always played that way.
And Borg would always play methodical and, win or lose, he would just keep going. He would only show emotion, just like the picture behind me, when he won a championship. Even if Borg lost, you would never see any emotion out of the gentleman, nothing at all. I admired that about Borg, but that also had its effect on him. Sure, he became incredibly self disciplined and we can learn from that because he learned to control his temper. But at the age of 25, when most tennis players are in the prime of their careers, Borg quit. He had enough and he couldn’t continue any further. And that is the downside of not being able to understand your emotions or taking the time to understand them.
Now, I do not know whether Borg’s team tried to reach him, whether he listened to them or not. We do not know, but what we do know that after his playing career, he let go. Borg went and did what ever he wanted to do, to the point where he got divorced and he married a second person, whom he met at a fashion show. Borg also lost that woman as well. He almost lost all of his finances as well, he was close to being bankrupt. When Borg came around and he realized that he needed to connect with his emotions, he made some adjustments and now he is doing quite well. That isn’t just true of Bjorn Borg or any athlete for that matter.
It can happen to any individual, it’s also true of us. Do we take the time to listen to our emotions regardless of what we’re sensing or feeling or how it makes us feel? Because if we do and we pay attention, there’s a lesson there for us as well. Not only us, but all those around us. What about our team members? Whether they’re employees, contractors, or even people in our lives, do we take the time to listen and help, offer some encouragement or even just saying, “I know what it feels like.” It’s amazing what can happen. I’ve experienced that when we face those emotions and are truthful to ourselves and those closest to us, being truthful with them as well, it is such a relieving way to live and you can reach incredible highs.
What I do know is that it is important for us to watch our mouth and be disciplined, but at the same time, listen to our emotions and see what they’re telling us. I want you to enjoy the last minute of the 1980 Wimbledon final against John McEnroe and it follows this video. And if you have any questions please comment below. I look forward to hearing from you and God bless and Ciao for now.