10 THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM SPORT
“Ive missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. Ive lost almost 300 games. 26 times, Ive been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. Ive failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
– Michael Jordan
Sport means different things to different people.To some, it is simply a source of casual entertainment.To some others it is a guide to health, wellness, and fitness.To everybody else, it is life.
Sport is often touted to be a better source for learning than accepted conventional wisdom. The beauty
of sport is that there are valuable lessons in it for all of us.
We’ve listed down 10 important lessons we can derive from the sporting world.
1) The importance of history and tradition
History, in this context, refers to the activities, traditions, achievements, and personalities that make the fabric of a sporting organization. Famous football clubs, cricket arenas, tennis stadiums, and organizations across the sporting world constantly draw out the significance of how men and women of yesteryear contributed to their establishment ㅡ history is never forgotten in the sporting universe and rightly so. Wimbledon, The Maracana, Old Trafford, The Lord’s, and other such arenas stand the testament of time to reflect how things once were. Whether an individual or an organization, history is not only important to their existence but integral to their identity. The past has been left behind but never forgotten.
2) The adherence to ritual
Rituals in sport are generally used as tools to fuel unity, aggression, inspiration, intimidation. The All Blacks of New Zealand are testament to this. The reigning World Rugby Champions are famous for their consistent showings on the field but are synonymous with people across the globe for their famous ‘Haka’ routine. A show of bravado and aggression adopted by the Kiwis from native Maori tribes, the ‘Haka’ is a symbol of raw energy fuelled by the desire to succeed. YouTube this right away and await the goosebumps!
3) Humility breeds amongst the greats
The simplicity exhibited by true greats of sport offer terrific examples to follow. Sir Bobby Charlton, Roger Federer, Sachin Tendulkar, and many others still talk about their careers with a natural enthusiasm seldom seen in other walks of life. The razzmatazz that accompanies success is shunned away by these personalities as easy as stale ale.
Despite their astronomical success, these personalities are as grounded as ever, a trait we can all imbibe in our everyday lives.
4) Social evils can be dealt with collectively
Be it the anti-racism drive by FIFA and UEFA, the union of the white and black athletes of the South African Rugby team during the Nelson Mandela era, or the inspiring story of Virginia’s TC William High School football team zoming together despite racial divisions ㅡ sport is a binder against a common evil, a force for positive change.
5) Overcoming harrowing tragedy
21 footballers in their early 20’s touted to be a team to rule the next decade, tragically met their end at Munich in 1958 after progressing to the 1958 European Cup semi-finals. Manchester United was a club in mourning.10 years later, the manager Matt Busby rebuilt the team from scratch to win the European Cup in 1968, a feat that would inspire generations to come.
Overcoming tragedy is isn’t just wishful thinking, it is possible and has been done on countless occasions. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?
6) United we stand, divided we fall
The desire to see one’s nation succeed is a trait that unites people of different cultural dispositions across languages and religious divisions. Brazil’s National football team and India’s National Cricket team serve as prime examples of uniting multicultural nations to rally behind a primary cause — sporting glory.
The importance of unity in this day and age is constantly highlighted by sporting teams and organizations. They not only unite communities but also bring together foes, solve disputes, and help ease tensions between groups.
7) With great success comes great responsibility
Sportsmen such as Agasi, Tendulkar, Pele, Federer, Beckham, and Zidane serve as ambassadors of various humanitarian and animal relief organizations; both private and public. They not only use their acquired wealth to help the community but also utilize their positive brand image to stand as beacons of hope for the unfortunate and downtrodden.
Their commitment to the betterment of society is a reminder to us all that the opportunity to help fellow beings must never be squandered.
8) Life has its ups and downs
Sport, just like life, mirrors the erratic nature of reaching peaks and hitting rock-bottom. We see this in careers of individual athletes and the performances of teams over a period of few years or a single professional season.
We’ve all experienced those moments when our favorite teams and athletes just missed the cut. Those last minute goals, fatal run-outs and unforced errors are etched in our memories forever. Bayern Munich’s European drought, Zinedine Zidane’s red card in the 2006 World Cup final, and India’s heartbreaking ICC World Cup exits are reminders that fortune has a cheeky knack of switching sides.
9) Success does not transpire overnight
Individual athletes and sporting stars remind us time and again that their new-found success was procured after a period of hardship, strenuous work and effort ㅡ the light at the end of the tunnel. More often than not, most sporting stars rose from humble beginnings to eventually reach superstardom. Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Pele, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid are some of those star names that serve as shining examples of the same. If success was an apple, the work put into planting and nurturing its growth is the effort required to bear fruit. Success does not come easy, and the above mentioned personalities endorse the same.
10) Success demands character
Most successful athletes across different sporting verticals have one thing in common – abundance in character. Their struggles, hardships, and inherent personality traits constitute a major chunk of their strength of character. Roy Keane, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and others are some of the athletes who were defined by their endurance and their ability to never give in. The sheer mental determination of these personalities propelled their career to newfound levels even though they lacked the natural talent of some of their contemporaries. Natural talent can only act as an added fuel to a fire. Everything from the ignition to its sustained burning is supplemented by determination and the mental strength of those who wish to rise above the very best.
<div class="at-above-post-cat-page addthis_tool" data-url="https://freeasiam.jockeyindia.com/2015/12/30/10-things-we-can-learn-from-sport/"></div>“Ive missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. Ive lost almost 300 games. 26 times, Ive been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. Ive failed over and over and over again in my life. And
