The Purposefulness Behind Calamities - 2

In 2005, soon after Rafael Nadal had risen to world number two, he suffered an injury on a bone at the bridge of his foot. He was no longer able to play tennis. The injury was due a congenital defect in the tarsal scaphoid, and he (and his doctor) thought his tennis career was over. Nadal, who had hopes of winning the world's most prestigious tennis championship someday, was emotionally devastated. It took time and patience to figure out a solution (which is till today not a permanent solution), and to get back to professional tennis.

After this event in his life, Nadal had to change many things about the way he trained. And that, in turn, improved his game much more. “I am more measured; I economize more on my moments, and I have worked to improve my serve,” says the champion in his autobiography RAFA. Recovering from the setback, he went straight to the French Open in 2005, and beat Federer in the final.

The take-away from all this is that if you regard Nadal’s tarsal scaphoid injury as a mere setback of his life, you miss seeing how it actually matured his game further. The injury was actually a 'fortunate misfortune.' In 2008, he finally achieved the dream of his life - the Wimbledon championship title - after defeating Federer in five sets. The universe brings to you your wishes in ways you can not possibly imagine, provided you hold them in your head and heart long enough.