Stan Wawrinka and the Underdog Mentality
It would not be unreasonable to consider Stan Wawrinka an underdog. Especially when placing his career in relation to the “Big Three” of tennis (Nadal, Federer, Djokovic). But yet, Wawrinka is successful in his own right. When Wawrinka is not defeating the “Big Three” he is still holding his standing in the ranks — usually within the top 15 of many tournaments. He is truly an outstanding player, and deserves to be recognized more. Yet, the “Big Three,” who have been holding onto tournament wins consistently since 2005, would naturally get the most media attention.
Wawrinka is a very good example for showing the value of the underdog mentality. The underdog is someone who is not complacent where they are, he actually is always trying to improve and not allowing losses to tear him down. In fact Wawrinka says, “You need to learn from when you lose…You need to try again. You need to practice and keep trying to improve. In life for me, it is the same. You need to accept what is happening.” Do you hear that? Wawrinka also sees this mentality applying to his life as a whole. That means it probably can apply to anyone’s life as a whole.
When looking at it in terms of life as a whole, there is a quote that Wawrinka got tattooed on himself so he can always carry it with him: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” This quote is powerful. People try to do things as best they can, and there is a natural consequence to trying which is failing. Failing is inescapable. But do not be bothered because it really depends how one responds to their trying and failing. They should never give up trying and they should learn and grow when they do not succeed. What a quote to live by! And it’s a quote that anyone can carry into ANY part of life.
But besides having a positive attitude toward failure, Wawrinka just has a positive attitude toward what he does as a whole: “For me, it was always about my passion for the sport, enjoying practicing, enjoying playing, trying to find solutions to win matches or be better….It’s always been more about what you do to get there [the top], rather than wanting to be there.” Wawrinka has all sorts of ways to motivate himself and anyone if they take this advice to heart. He recommends finding ways to enjoy what one does which can allow for growth and understanding. And not looking at the end goal as the ultimate end but rather embrace the practical steps one needs to get there. Because, after all, that is the only way for someone to be deemed successful: if they put in the necessary effort.
It is wonderful how open Wawrinka is about his mentality. He sees that it works for him and welcomes others to claim the thought process for themselves along with him. What is a good takeaway? As an underdog, the expectations are off the table. Wawrinka is unpredictable. His former coach says, “He doesn’t have the stability of Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal, but in his best moments, I think he can beat all those names on a very good day.” Which is exactly what Wawrinka has done — 3 wins against Federer, 3 against Nadal, and 6 against Djokovic. But, Wawrinka does not win all the time, and because of that he can always work on studying and improving his game. One can work steadily and not get bogged down by putting expectations on themselves or having expectations from others. They can be more reasonable.
But along with being more reasonable, an even cooler reason to be the underdog is the time they can take to analyze, think, and reflect. Wawrinka thinks. He thinks so much that he makes the decision to talk and gain advice from Federer himself. Wawrinka says he is “taking advantage” of his opportunity to speak with Federer who was the #1 player at the time. From one Swiss tennis player to another, Federer would encourage and guide Wawrinka, they would even play men’s doubles on the same team together. They became teammates and friends. It was never with a goal to “become number 1” for Wawrinka, but really just to improve his game.
There should be no stigma when it comes to the underdog mentality. It naturally makes a person better because they are always after ways to improve themselves. So, why not open up to the underdog mentality and see where it gets you?
