Maradona: The Beauty of an Emotional Man

“That guy is way too emotional!”

This was a common phrase from my father, in the same way that I have heard similar statements throughout my life in British culture that a person is successful due to the ‘ability’ to block out emotions and act without them. If you are a Formula 1 driver and you want to win at all costs, then emotion has to be taken out of the equation. But our human relationships, for example, are not about winning World Championships.

I used to ask myself when I was a child why a character, such as Diego Maradona, was hated by nearly as many people as who loved him.

Just to yourself for a minute; what are the first 3 thoughts that come to mind when you hear the name, Maradona?

Maradona was constantly judged and sneered at from all different angles for not being able to keep his ‘demons’ in check. It was easy when I was young to just focus on the apparent fact that he had not fulfilled his full potential and that he could have achieved more if he hadn’t committed so many errors. I’d be interested to know whether you agree with this common belief?

Maradona was a cocktail of emotions, who could disappoint and inspire in equal measure. He was not robotic in any way, and if he hadn’t performed his entire existence through the emotions that defined him, then he wouldn’t have been half the football player that he became. For him to have concentrated 100% on his own ‘perfection’ and to have removed his everyday emotional tightrope would have seen him fail to stand and perform at such a level. It would have contradicted who he truly was.

Have a think back to a moment when you have contradicted your true self. How does it make you feel looking back?

We are taught to believe that emotions are a sign of weakness and to measure all success by the successful that have come before; to compare against the individuals who appear flawless. But we need to observe how the robotic amongst us only consider themselves, and will stop at nothing to succeed in their fields.

A character such as Maradona, in comparison, lived for joy, and his desire and emotions have lead countless others to experience the same dreams. It was evident that Maradona’s success for his country and for Napoli brought glory to populations of people way beyond any form of personal sporting statistic or title.

His emotions were his downfall in a world that could not understand him; but they were the base of triumph and happiness for millions who will never forget. He inspired others by being humanly real.

I ask you now, how ‘real’ are you when you are with those important people in your life?

We can’t be scared to show ourselves to the world; we don’t need to hide behind a mask of repression and fear to wonder what society may think about our truth. We shouldn’t have to learn to live with our emotions or to remove them. We have to unlearn the cage that has been placed within our minds to restrict us from connecting with our emotional vitality. We so often live only half, or even less, of what we truly are. Maradona, as an example, lived his entire life full, unwilling to compromise on his unfiltered form of human state.

He may have died early to what we perceive, but he lived more than nearly everyone else alive. So, is it best for a long existence or to fleetingly truly live?

If we fail to understand and engage with the emotional rawness that is within all of us, then everything that is a part of us fails to be maximised and our lives turn into mere existence - We will instil this upon our children and the people important to us if we are not careful.

Maradona never succumbed to social manipulation to lose his emotional inner-child. This made him always stand out against the robotic adult norm the world over. We were all emotional, susceptible, open, confident and real before we became conscious of others. Because of this we used to be alive like we have never been since. You can learn from those wonderfully tragic individuals who never lose the true reality of what it is to be human.

So, why not try…

…doing something this week that YOU loved as a child. Just let the

fun run wild and forget your age. It will make you feel immensely happy to reconnect

with your inner-emotional child.