Eventful US Open 2018 - Power of a Narrative in ‘Designing’ your Thinking

If a person gave away your body to some passer-by, you’d be furious. Yet you hand over your mind to anyone who comes along so they may abuse you, leaving it disturbed and troubled – have you no shame in that? – Translated from Epictetus, Enchiridion, 28

Tennis has always been universally regarded as a “gentlemen’s sport,” alongside sports like golf. It is dead quiet during play, and players are expected to act with a certain air of grace. Being a sports lover, I am accustomed to hearing the gentle and iconic words ‘Quiet please. Thank you’ from chair umpire to quieten the audience when a tennis game is on.

I was perturbed by the event that over shadowed the beginning of an eventful journey for a young girl in US Open 2018 – Ms. Naomi Osaka. What should have been a moment to show the highest level of sportsmanship, was marred by anything but that! I could not help but recollect similar situations and the verdicts of some of the world class NFL referees – ‘Unsportsmanlike conduct; disrespecting the official – Number ## disqualified from the game’ or the famous 1990 Australian Open ‘Code violation – Verbal Abuse – Default Mr. McEnroe’ by the Chair Umpire!

A lot has been discussed in various forums about what should have, could have and must have happened and jury is still out judging the Chair Umpire. The aftermath has been even more intriguing for me, particularly on how the ‘narrative’ of this event in the media was leading to public’s opinion (swinging at times!) – ones who watched the event live and the ones who may have just had the opportunity to read them in the papers.

An event that ended with booing during the momentous time for a young girl – becoming a champion playing against her childhood idol – was articulated in papers, each with its own narrative. They were so powerful, which made me wonder about the influences of these narratives on sports enthusiasts and general mass.

This covering article in an Indian national paper showcased the finesse of the game played by players and challenges faced by them. The author intends to focus on Naomi and openly states this to the reader - Osaka reigns supreme in an incident-filled US Open final

The Washington Post focused on the umpire for his rule book calls and turns the narrative towards gender bias. - At U.S. Open, power of Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka is overshadowed by an umpire’s power play

This article by Japanese national paper deliberately focused neither on the incident nor on the win but on the genuine emotions of Naomi right after the game. The Asahi Shimbun (Japan) - Osaka, 20, beats her idol Serena to win U.S. Open

Is this (also) what Epictetus referred to in verse 28 in his Enchiridion in 135 A.C.E? “.. handing over your own mind to be confused” and I would prefer to extend this to ‘mind to be influenced or your thinking to be designed’. 

Historical recordings across the globe, over centuries, have been influenced by the narrator and that, I would say, is a powerful weapon – ‘What the narrative is’. Not in reference to any particular part of the globe, any narrative tends to be influenced (perhaps biased) in its own ways – thereby shaping our ‘thinking’. In Designing Your Thinking, you need to be cautious not to let unwanted biases clutter your mind space and thereby influence an outcome that neither represents your deeper views nor your stand. 

Author is the Head of School of Design Thinking and volunteers as a key Mentor at Life Design Lab. He works with adults and young adults in creating a meaningful life journey by applying Design principles for Life Design.