"I have never tried to compare myself to anyone else"
About this Quote
Tendulkar’s line reads like modesty, but it’s also a quiet refusal of the whole celebrity-industrial ecosystem that tried to turn him into a yardstick. In Indian cricket, comparison isn’t casual; it’s a national pastime with stakes: Bradman’s average, Gavaskar’s grit, Lara’s elegance, Kohli’s intensity. Every era wants its “next” someone. By saying he never compared himself, Tendulkar sidesteps the trap that fame sets for athletes: you stop playing the game and start playing the discourse.
The intent is protective. Comparison invites two corrosions at once: ego when you’re “ahead,” insecurity when you’re “behind.” Tendulkar’s longevity suggests a different operating system - one built on process, repetition, and a self-contained standard. The subtext is discipline disguised as humility: I’m not building my identity out of other people’s numbers. That’s not just personal wellness; it’s competitive strategy. A batter who is calibrating himself to the crowd’s running debate is a batter already distracted.
Context matters because his career unfolded under relentless scrutiny: satellite TV, 24/7 sports media, a billion-person audience projecting hopes onto one right-handed stance. This quote pushes back against the myth-making. It says: don’t make me a comparison; I’m a craft. It’s also an unusually mature form of confidence - not the loud kind that needs rivals to define itself, but the steady kind that survives slumps, expectation, and the urge to chase someone else’s legend.
The intent is protective. Comparison invites two corrosions at once: ego when you’re “ahead,” insecurity when you’re “behind.” Tendulkar’s longevity suggests a different operating system - one built on process, repetition, and a self-contained standard. The subtext is discipline disguised as humility: I’m not building my identity out of other people’s numbers. That’s not just personal wellness; it’s competitive strategy. A batter who is calibrating himself to the crowd’s running debate is a batter already distracted.
Context matters because his career unfolded under relentless scrutiny: satellite TV, 24/7 sports media, a billion-person audience projecting hopes onto one right-handed stance. This quote pushes back against the myth-making. It says: don’t make me a comparison; I’m a craft. It’s also an unusually mature form of confidence - not the loud kind that needs rivals to define itself, but the steady kind that survives slumps, expectation, and the urge to chase someone else’s legend.
Quote Details
| Topic | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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