Manny Pacquiao, Hidilyn Diaz share tips on attaining winning mindset

MANILA, Philippines — What is a champion? A champion is not only someone who wins in competitions, but someone who possesses the heart of a champion — resilient, persevering, determined to do his best, never gives up, always defying the odds and emerging victorious.

A champion is someone like boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and weightlifting queen Hidilyn Diaz, who both stand as the epitomes of true champions, showcasing the undaunting Filipino spirit despite many challenges in their lives and careers.

Along with popular pain medicine brand Ibuprofen Paracetamol (Alaxan FR), a brand both athletes endorse, Pacquiao and Diaz are encouraging everyone to continue being a champion without compromising overall well-being.

Through their life stories and actual experiences, both sports icons also share ways by which everyone can attain a winning mindset — and maintain it, too.

Attaining any goal requires relentless focus, entailing a mindset that stays committed even when faced with great challenges.

At the young age of 11, Diaz already displayed the potential to become a strong weightlifter, and so she trained hard to become one. Despite encountering setbacks and failures throughout her weightlifting journey, she remained undeterred.

Through long years of training and more than a decade of competing, Diaz is no longer just a dreamer. She is now one of the pillars of Philippine sports, bagging the Philippines' first-ever Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"Okay mangarap, but you really have to work hard, at kailangan may disiplina. Minsan natatalo ka, minsan nananalo ka. As long as hindi ka nag-gi-give up, kayang-kaya mo ‘yan. Laban lang," she advised. 

[It’s okay to dream, but you really have to work hard and be disciplined. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. As long as you don’t give up, you can definitely do it. Just keep fighting.]

Diaz’s life story shows that being a champion takes time and does not come in an instant.

As cliché as it may sound, “No pain, no gain” is truly a part of every journey toward greatness. But the game changer is knowing how to bounce back from pain quickly.  

In Pacquiao’s case as a boxer, physical pain is a constant from