Living up to own expectations give Tendulkar sleepless nights

u00a0quotI don39t think I woke up one morning and felt that there was this responsibility on me and that I needed to live up to that expectation Something which still gives me sleepless nights is 39How will I go out and keep that standard and live up to my own expectationsquot Tendulkar said in an interview published in 39Time39 magazine quotHow am I going to go out and perform That restlessness brings the best out of me it39s a healthy signquot he said Tendulkar said he refrains from planning too far ahead on his future quotMy planning is only done match by match I don39t plan too far ahead I39ve never done that At most I plan for the next tournament or series I believe in approaching my targets step by step and don39t look at the larger picturequotu00a0 The American publication interviewed the Indian batting star for a profile that will appear in its issue this week Tendulkar was named in TIME39s 2010 list of 100 most influential people in the world Tendulkar said at the start of his career he used to quottoss and turnquot at night before a game Sachin Tendulkar Photo AFP quotNow I know that39s normal so I39ll just get up and watch TV or something I know it39s just my subconscious mind getting ready for a game It39s about knowing yourself and I know myself better nowquot Considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time Tendulkar has smashed several records in his cricketing career and is the only cricketer to score 100 international centuries He was nominated last month to the Indian Parliament39s Lower house the 39Rajya Sabha Amid all the adulation he has received and the impact he has had on his countrymen Tendulkar said he believes in focussing on his cricket and rest of the things happen on their own quotLet people talk about it me I move forward Right from my school days I have done that I know that certain things I do or say have an impact on people People appreciate certain things that I do quotBut any active sportsman has to be very focused you ve got to be in the right frame of mindquot he said adding that if a person39s energy is diverted in various directions he does not achieve the results quotI need to know when to switch on and switch off and the rest of the things happen around that Cricket is in the foreground the rest is in the backgroundquot he said Tendulkar said it is important for him to enjoy his game and he reminds himself of that theory in tough moments quotSo much happens on and off the field that sometimes you forget to enjoy the game That39s when things don39t go smoothly There have been challenges along the way some tough moments But I would speak to myself and say 39It doesn t matter what the situation is enjoy it39quot On how he handles the media hype around him and his game Tendulkar said when he is on the field he has quot05 secondsquot or less quotto react to a ballquot and he quotcannot be thinking of what XYZ has said about me If I get to hear casually about something someone39s said about me or see something in the papers that s fine don t go looking for things In the last few years the hype has grown because there is such fierce competition in the mediaquot quotEarlier you played 10 shots and maybe a couple of comments were made today you play one shot and there are 500 comments The ball is in the player s court whether you want to follow every little thing or you want to keep your mind blank and trust your judgement trust your instincts and take decisionsquot he said On field Tendulkar surrenders himself to his natural instincts and his subconscious mind knows what to do quotIt is trained to react At home my family doesn t discuss media coverage It helps because I am able to take my own decisions not influenced by somebody saying somethingquot he said When asked about his quotswitchonswitchoffquot process for a game he said the quotswitching onquot happens automatically for him quotI know that I am going to be playing in three weeks so I better start doing something I get restless Even if I am holidaying and not doing anything training jogging or going for walks I feel uneasy It39s become part of me now Whether I am playing or not I need some activity and that helps me to be normal otherwise I am a little restlessquot Switching off on the other hand is not an instant process for him and is only possible when he has time between games When I39m spending time with my children that39s when I actually switch off and I stay away completely from cricket I do normal things like any father any family manquot He further said he has always wanted to be completely focussed on his game and did not want to think about the quotcommercialquot side of it quotI do advertising shoots but not at the cost of compromising on my cricket At no stage did I feel I would have to make compromises and earn an extra buckquot he addedu00a0