Sports, scalpel and I...
As cliché as this gets my day starts at 5am on a daily basis. It starts with me waking up while I take in the silence that the mother nature of ours flaunts. I then walk towards my kitchen to make myself a mug of hot coffee. I then plop on my living room couch with my steaming hot coffee while I get countless number of cuddles and licks from the two incredibly adorable puppies of mine. A good fifteen minutes of cuddles, kisses and a rocket high level of endorphins later, I put on my shoes and tennis gear to drive myself to the court.
Tennis, for me, isn’t just a game. Although I’m no Boris Becker or a Roger Federer; it’s always more than just the court the racket and the ball. It helps me streamline my thoughts and in turn aids in me having a better day forward. I don’t skip my game to think about work, until and unless it’s an emergency of course. It fuels my brain to function much more efficiently and better through the day, no doubt a clear win rejoices me on such a large scale that makes me seem like a kid in a candy store. I believe each one of us should have a sport in which we engage in as also to disengage from our routine work. Any sport for that matter, not only helps you clear your head off of all the burden and cobwebs that are spinning inside of your skull, but also keeps your body in the pink of health; so there I would say it’s a win-win. Honesty, it saddens me seeing the kids and teenagers and a whole bunch of youth stuck to their phones and laptops.
No denial in the fact that Corona got the worse of us all. Despite all that, just a 45-minute brisk walk or a short run in the outdoors does the trick that many of us have not realized. Fresh air and the blood pumping through, does so much good to the body and refreshes our mind. A very dear friend of mine would always say he would note down mentally his to-do lists while jogging in the morning. He once mentioned that he would have a run through of that day’s surgeries while all the way through the course of his morning runs, that’s how much his runs are pivotal for him.
I strongly believe in the fact that pursuing an art-form or any kind of sport of your liking gives you an incredible amount of self-discipline. My sporting habit motivates me to wake up early in the morning no matter how less I slept the previous night. It is also the way my biological clock is tuned to.
Discipline should be there even in the absence of authority. Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, the hospital premises withdrew the biometrics and punch-in times for the clinical and non-clinical staff of the hospital I work in. This gave them an added advantage of slacking and being late in the virtue of ‘no biometrics to monitor us’. But I have ensured that not a day would I go late to work. That is the kind of discipline I am talking about. No matter what the external source of influence is, I consciously always stay in my de-marked line thereby, paving the way for being a better person in life.
Another magnificent benefit in engaging in a sport or art-form which involves a group is that it goes a long way in improving our communication skills. Say, I am playing doubles against a couple others; I need to communicate with my partner efficiently enough in order to win the game. It makes you a better team player.
Me, being a surgeon, communication and handling my team of doctors and other staff members is the enormous key to patient care. I partly fail in my job if I am unable to communicate with my team and furthermore, if I am not able to communicate to my patient and/or his family in ways they comprehend and understand.
I have started learing Veena, this goes a long way in helping me to relax and rejuvanate. playing Veena helps me to stay focused and concentrate. Music soothes not only our ears but also calms the mind.
If I have to put in words to conclude, I would say the adrenaline rush on the grass court as well as the surgical field is the absolute high I crave for in life and of course a table of good food and a bunch of loving people around me to keep me and my heart young and pumping.
About the author: Dr A Mohan Rao qualified from Kasturba Medical College Mangalore/ Manipal , Karnataka in 1985 is a Sr. Consulant in General, Minimal Access (Laparoscopic) Surgery and Bariatric Surgery. He is also a Fellow of the Indian Association of Gastro Endo-surgeons. He has qualified as a General surgeon in the year 1985 and subsequently trained as a Laparoscopic Surgeon. He has more than 36 years of Surgical Experience as a General Surgeon and 20 years of Laparoscopic Surgery. Website: https://www.drmohanraolaparosurgeon.com/
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