What makes your heart sing?

I used to spend hours with my eyes glued to the television screen, cheering on our national shuttlers.

Like every other Malaysian, I watched each game with intense excitement, punching my fist in the air for every point our players scored.

And each time the Thomas Cup season comes around, we continue to hope: Let this be our year!

More than two decades on, I can only imagine the growing amount of pressure shouldered by our national players to end this agonizing wait.

To the cynics, the defeat to eventual-champions Denmark in the semi-finals last Friday was unsurprising.

Unlike other individual tournaments where we can rely on Datuk Lee Chong Wei to come out on top, winning a group tournament like the Thomas Cup is something else altogether.

There is talent and depth in the national squad, but still, when it really counts, we falter.

It’s not for lack of trying. So what gives?

At times I wonder if we will ever see Malaysian players lift the Thomas Cup trophy again.

More often than not, it’s those last few yards before the finish line that’s the hardest.

It’s no longer something physical, but sheer will and determination that separates true champions from the rest of us.

This rare quality determines whether one rises to the occasion in the face of adversity, or simply caves in. And the ability to choose the former over the latter resides in all of us. It’s a choice.

But day in, day out, tending to the demands of modern life, we’re bombarded by an unending flow of information and a myriad of choices.

This noise is non-stop and all around us; and it makes it even easier to lose sight of our true calling.

Do you do what you do just for the sake of a paycheck?

I find that when I’m doing things that really make me tick, it’s much easier to rise up to any challenge and see things through.

So take time out to reset your compass, and if I may borrow a line from Steve Jobs, ask yourself this: “What makes your heart sing?”