Points to ponder: Undue influence.

During the struggle to get us selection I had many conversations with Greg. One of them is this. Greg told me that he had been warned not to talk to me. I told him that as a leader his job is to listen to all no matter how unpleasant the subject, weigh the matter and then make up his own mind.

His argument is the same as many I have heard over the years on undue influence. So let me explain what undue influence is.

Undue influence is when pressure is added. Intimidation and victimisation. There is no undue influence if the subject matter is discussed, reasoned out and people allowed to freely make up their own minds after the debate.

An aside: FGM also claims to have helped bring in written selection for National representation. The very first written criteria published was on this blog. And that was from a private email sent to a parent on NAG selection criteria. This is a matter of record.

The above point is clearer if we also understand the difference between listening and hearing. Listening is the active engagement of the pertinent facts. Hearing is just in and out without consideration. Just noise. Listening leads to learning.

Another point for your consideration. Many of you know me and have seen me in tournaments. I ask you to think back. Have you ever seen me shout? And yet the bloggers surrounding Jimmy's blog keep saying that I am shouting. If I do not shout in person, can I shout from just writing? Where is their perception of shouting coming from?

Caveat: I have raised my voice once in public. And that was during the Mal/Sing event 2010. That time I told Peter Long to shut up and not to try to demoralise the Malaysian team.

So I think this points to a deeper problem. Not only no hearing and defintely no listening but instead they try their hardest to close their ears. And yet they cannot drown the "shouting" in their minds.

Remember ours is a mind sport. We are not doing well and they keep their ears closed and just continue with their technical issues, intimidation and attempts at character assasination. But they cannot win in tournaments; cannot make even one GM run.

I believe this is because a GM run is about thinking under pressure. About not allowing their blind fears from overwhelming their minds. About not being intimidated and not allowing themselves to become victims. And it all starts when you can hear and then you develop that into being able to listen.

For truly listening is a very hard thing to do. Try it. It is exhausting until you have practised it for a long time.

But when you can listen, that means that you are able to think despite that roar in your mind. Or at a higher level of mastery, the roar/shouting has subsided.

An example: When Zhuo Ren rejected the strategy to take on Mok, what is the logical step that must now follow if he still wants to be selected? What did the result of SEA games selection demonstrate? Was he able to listen and reason or had fear aided by intimidation shut down his mind? Ref: Here.