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The Siddha Mind:

Dialogues with Coaches

An electronic book

Kapil Gupta, M.D.

Siddha Performance
www.siddhaperformance.com
[email protected]
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©2013, Kapil Gupta, M.D.

This ebook is protected under the Creative Commons license:

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND

Commercial use and changes to the manuscript are prohibited.

You are free to share it, post it, copy it, and print it.

This ebook can be downloaded absolutely free at www.siddhaperformance.com. My INtent and

CONtent is for seekers only.

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Table of Contents

Discipline ................................................................................................... 4

Sacrifice for The Team .............................................................................. 8

Communication ....................................................................................... 13

Playing For . . . ........................................................................................ 15

No Prescriptions ...................................................................................... 18
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Discipline

Some of the players on my team have incredible raw talent. But they lack discipline. How do I

give them a sense of discipline?

Discipline is not yours to give.

But I’m their coach.

So coach them.

Part of being a coach is to instill work ethic and proper practice routines, isn’t it?

Each individual’s idea of coaching is different. If you wish to create practice plans and

drills and game strategies, do so. Do whatever you believe you need to do for the success of your

players. But if you are looking to instill things into your players, and change players, the wind

will not be at your back.

So if some players are not giving one hundred percent, I should simply accept it?

I am not telling you to accept it or to ignore it. I am telling you to face the situation and

examine it for what it is.

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I’m sorry, I don’t understand.

With regard to the players that you speak of, I’m sure that you have insisted, even

demanded, that they give one hundred percent, correct?

Yes.

On many occasions, no doubt.

Yes.

What was the result?

They did it for a while. But then they reverted.

And when they reverted, you insisted again. And they did it for a while, then reverted

again. And this has likely been going on for decades, with each incoming class, is this correct?

Yes.

How do you feel about this methodology of insistence?

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I’m looking for a better way. This is why I’m asking for your advice.

In your mind, what would be the ideal?

That every one of my players give one hundred percent during every practice and every game.

If you asked those players what their ideal was, what do you think they would say?

I don’t know.

Do you think it is worth trying?

Basically, you’re looking for a compromise.

Absolutely not. No man should compromise his vision.

Then why are you asking me to ask them about their ideal?

You may wish to ask them about their ideal so that you may begin to understand them. If

you truly wish to get the best from a player, you must understand him on his terms, and in his

own words.
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So I should give them what they want, whether it is half-efforts or less practice time?

Certainly not. Everyone should remain true to his instincts.

What if I hear them, but we come to some sort of impasse?

An impasse is a wonderful place, as it represents a new place from which to begin.

I’m sorry?

By the time that each party arrives at the impasse, the relationship will have changed. It

will then be interesting to see what new behaviors emerge from this new relationship.

Discipline cannot be given or instilled. For it is a function of desire. Each player is unique. A

coach cannot reach a player until he first discovers where it is that he lives. In discovering a

player’s true abode, a coach catches a glimpse of his inner workings. It is only then that the

coach can work his magic of weaving an atmosphere that will entice the emergence of desire.

When desire comes, discipline will not be far behind.

Kapil Gupta,
Gupta, M.D.
www.siddhaperformance.com
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Sacrifice for The Team

How do I teach my players to be selfless?

Why do you want your players to be selfless?

I want to teach them that the team is the most important.

I see things differently.

In your opinion, there is no such thing as team unity?

In my opinion, there is no such thing as a team.

I don’t understand.

Do you believe that there is such a thing as a car?

Yes.

Can you please describe to me what a car is?

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It has a hood, a windshield, an engine, and four tires.

You mentioned a hood, a windshield, an engine, and four tires. Each of these I

understand. But what about the car?

When all of these parts are put together, we call it a car.

So a car is simply a collection of parts?

Sort of.

Sort of? Is there a windshield, independent of the tires?

Sorry?

Does the windshield stand on its own as a true entity, independent of the tires?

Yes.

Is there an engine, independent of the windshield?

Yes.

Is there a car, independent of the tires, engine, windshield, and hood?

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No, it is a combination of all of the things.

But it is not a true entity. It does not exist in and of itself. It is only a concept, is this

correct?

Yes.

Is there a team, independent of the players?

No.

Then how can you ask players to sacrifice themselves for something that does not exist?

But they have to somehow work as one.

A player can only be treated as an individual, because the individual is all that truly

exists. If he must work with other individuals, it is the individual that works, the individual that

sees, the individual that acts, is it not?

But they all must work together.

Each must work with the other. But each of them works from the standpoint of himself.

From the standpoint of the individual.

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But if one individual player plays for the betterment of only himself, then this negatively

affects the performance of the players, collectively.

Do you know anyone who does not work for the betterment of himself? Do you know

anyone who does not prioritize his own happiness and his own well being?

Perhaps not. But I have seen players who could have, for instance, taken a particular action in

a game, for their own glory, but instead acted unselfishly for the benefit of his teammates.

Could it be that an external display of unselfishness was fundamentally an act of

selfishness? Could it be that these players gained something more from acting in this way, than

in acting in a seemingly selfish way?

I didn’t see their actions as selfish at all.

This is because you view selfishness as something negative. I view selfishness as

inevitable.

How so?

Is the man who gives to charity selfless?

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Yes.

How do you think he feels when he gives?

He probably feels good about himself.

If every time he gave to charity, he felt guilty and depressed, do you believe he would

continue giving to charity?

Probably not.

So when he gives to charity, does he not receive at least as much as he gives?

Altruism is a myth. Every human being, fundamentally, lives for himself. It can be no other

way. If he gives, it is only because he receives from the giving. A team is a concept. An

individual is a reality. Is it more effective to deal with a concept or a reality? Individuals may

give of themselves. But they will never give up themselves.

Kapil Gupta,
Gupta, M.D.
www.siddhaperformance.com
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Communication

Talking to my players is like to talking to a wall.

This is because you speak to them as if they were a wall.

You mean I should speak nicer?

Whether you speak nicely or firmly or loudly is up to you. The problem is that you need

to understand your true audience.

I don’t understand my audience?

You don’t understand who it is that you are speaking to.

I’m speaking to my players, who else?

If you believe that you are speaking to your players, you will never reach them.
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Then who am I speaking to? Who is my true audience?

This is what you must discover, as it differs for each player. You must find where a

player lives, what he prioritizes, what his temperament is, and what his sensibilities are. For

these are your true audience.

How do I do this?

By first desiring to do so.

Once I desire it, how do I do it?

There are some techniques I can show you. But until you desire it, they will not bear fruit.

The body of a human being is simply a beautifully designed shell. Speaking to the shell is

fruitless, for no one lives there. Reaching a human being requires a willingness to go where

he lives. Not geographically, but psychologically, emotionally, spiritually. It is only then that

you will have his attention. Not because this is the only place from which he will give it. But

because this is the place where it lives. His allegiance is not yours to take. And his attention is

not his to give. The true art of coaching, therefore, lies not in demanding from the player, but

in discovering him.

Kapil Gupta,
Gupta, M.D.
www.siddhaperformance.com
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Playing For . . .

How do I get the players to play for their team, their university.

I don’t understand.

I’m trying to get them to play for something greater than themselves.

The team and the university is greater than themselves?

You don’t believe they should play for something bigger than themselves?

What is bigger than a player’s self?

You believe his world should revolve around him alone?

Does your world revolve around anyone else but you?

My family, my faith, my team.

That is correct. Your family, Your faith, Your team.

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You don’t understand. I’m trying to get them away from this idea of “me, me, me.”

So you would like to replace “me, me, me,” with “team, team, team,” and “university,

university, university.” Is this correct?

Why are you so resistant to the idea of selflessness?

There is no such thing.

There is no such thing as selflessness?

Absolutely not.

So what you are saying is that a team should be made up of a group of players who think only

of themselves?

There is no other kind.

Then how could they possibly play together as a unit?

By feeling as if they are an important part of the group and by feeling comfortable in the

role that they are asked to play.

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Exactly. So they are playing for the team.

No. They are playing THEIR role FIRST. It happens to benefit the so-called team

SECOND.

So a player should play only for himself?

A player will gain the most when he does not play FOR anything.

Playing FOR is a disease of modern sports. Players play for trophies, for money, for medals,

for glory, for rankings, for teams, for schools, for countries. If players were simply allowed to

play, not only would they play free and play better, they would not need psychologists in order

to do so.

Kapil Gupta,
Gupta, M.D.
www.siddhaperformance.com
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No Prescriptions

You mention in your discourses that you are looking to create a No Prescriptions revolution.

Does this mean that I am not allowed to teach technique?

Allowed? This was not meant as a rule of law. You are allowed to do whatever you

please.

Could you please clarify what you mean by no prescriptions?

What I mean is that it is important to allow the player to find his way with minimal

interference.

What do you mean by interference?

To interfere means to create a barrier between the player and his natural instincts.

But sometimes the player’s instincts get him into trouble. In the golf swing, for instance, the

instinct is to hit rather than swing. This is an instinct that I believe needs interrupting.
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It is not an instinct which needs interrupting. It is a concept that needs understanding. A

golfer’s instinct to swing a club or a tennis player’s instinct to swing a racquet are related to his

mental concept of impact. Once this is corrected, so is the instinct.

But isn’t this type of correcting a prescription?

I don’t think so. A prescription deals with how. Correcting the player’s concept of impact

is a matter of what. You can correct the what. But it is best to leave the how to him.

What is wrong with teaching how?

It is not a matter of right and wrong. It is just that one’s methodology depends upon one’s

ultimate motivation.

Please explain.

If your primary motivation is to have a player perform an action immediately and

according to your direction, you will give him prescriptions. If your primary motivation is to

have a player become independent and eventually coach himself, you will limit your

interference.

So I am not to give any sort of prescription?

It depends upon your motivation.

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If my motivation is to have the player become independent, am I not to give him any

prescriptions whatsoever?

This is the problem with language. Rather than being drawn to the spirit of the message,

people are drawn to the words. If I were to forbid you from giving prescriptions, would this not

be a prescription in itself?

Yes, it would.

The point is not whether you give zero prescriptions, one prescription, or two and a half

prescriptions. The point is that in order to make players independent, they must understand the

concept of the technique. Once they understand the concept, the motions are an almost natural

occurrence.

It is the essence of the words. The spirit of the message. The meaning lies not in the phrase,

but in the steam that rises from it. The reason that there is so much allegiance to prescriptions

is because there is an inadequate appreciation of human ingenuity. The human body is a most

efficient machine. It will not have trouble producing mechanically, that which it understands

viscerally.

Kapil Gupta,
Gupta, M.D.
www.siddhaperformance.com