For some reason, as I watch a few of the FIFA World Cup matches on television, I see flashes of familiar expressions posed by players and coaches. I saw similar expressions in companies I used to work with - faces of determination, grins of fury, gestures of disappointment, expressions of desperation, postures of suspense, cheers of excitements, smiles of relief, winks of comfort and other variety of body languages - all were found among colleagues at work.

Many professional and business executives I know adopt assignments and responsibilities much more than just work to make a living, work to make more profit or to simply get things done. When passion becomes inseparable to modalities in work, emotion can easily take charge of the goings. And when emotion comes into the equation, esteem associated values can easily prosper in no time. That to me, is one picture of holistic professionalism - where physical, mental and spiritual modalities bond in one solid synergy of a property.

As we watch soccer matches thousands of miles away on the other side of the globe, we can mentally be in synch with the happenings. Profiles of teams and players publicized in medias, comments, talks and predictions on the streets - all these can extend our mental presence as far as South Africa. And as the World Cup matches near the final, the more spiritual it becomes.

But why do I see supporters down here in Jakarta cheer like nobody’s business? Jump on to chairs and some will go as far as banging or jumping on top of the tables, shout and curse with all their might, and I even saw one female supporter pour her glass of drink to her own dyed hairdo over grieve. Emotion, excitements and suspense - basically the spirit of competing persists as much down here as well. If I were to ask the question to one of the fans, I would probably get a strange look on the face saying: “It’s the World Cup dude, hello! Is anybody at home?” indeed, a valid answer. Then I asked the question to my twelve years old son who was with me watching along with the crowd - he simply said: “It’s a competition!” Now, that one was a naïve answer, it bears the depth of truth - and I didn’t have to feel estranged because everything about that answer was naturally accepted and understood by heart.

It is all about competition and about competing. If it wasn’t a competition, we won’t see tension on faces, we won’t hear emotional cries and cheers of excitement. That answer: “It’s a competition!” is like presenting a piece of invaluable stone, mined out from the earth, not yet cut and processed, and not yet polished to turn it into diamonds. The young teen’s answer came from the core - in a form of raw material - a raw kind of an answer.

Somehow, being a human and being competitive is like water - a natural blend of hydrogen and oxygen. Like it or not, human are destined to compete in every single step they make in life - from the time to wake up to the time to sleep. Compete with resistance to wake up, compete with worries and fears for the day, compete with time, distance and traffic, compete with other people and other ideas, compete with emotions and desires, compete with our own ego, we compete with needing to stay awake because work is not done for the day, and many other limitless means of competing.

I happened to watch the quarterfinal between Ghana and Uruguay. The game went all the way and beyond. Ninety minutes didn’t offer a winner - if in human beings, it’s like competing physically and materially with no winner - as if stature, uniform or attributes failed to name the winner. An additional thirty minutes also failed to crown a winner - if in human beings, it’s like competing mentally and intellectually, and still, with no winner - as if stripping of symbols of status and uniform didn’t help, and wearing only underwear was still not enough to finish a competition. Finally, the penalty shots were the means able to qualify the winner - if in human beings, it’s like competing in emotional and spiritual states of competency - as if competing in nudity.

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