Competitive Sports Can Teach Us about Life
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Competitive Sports Can Teach Us about Life
Introduction
Competitive sports have essential lessons about life. Sports demonstrate that we need help to overcome life problems. The help involves creating teamwork to increase the chances of winning. Sometimes people can fail despite doing everything right. Failure is not the end of the story but an opportunity for future victory. Losing is inevitable in both competitive sports and life. The critical lessons can improve the quality of life since they reflect the value of winning and preparing after losing.
Lessons from Competitive Sports
Competitive sports provide critical lessons for the players and spectators. The lessons apply to real-life situations. People can apply the lessons to improve their quality of life and overcome life’s challenges. The first lesson is that we need help to overcome life problems (Baena, 2019). Players can combine their energies to assist each other and supplement weaknesses. The vital life lesson shows that in life, people need one another. For example, a fourth-grade student with poor grades needs to ask for help. The help can be from teachers, books in the library, a classmate, or online instructors. Life is not easy without help from other people (Baena, 2019). Competitive sports involve making tactical decisions that will change the current situation (Baena, 2019). For example, a coach can use five midfielders compared to four to bolster the team’s strength. Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League final win resulted from adding an extra midfielder to enhance the team’s strength.
Competitive sports demonstrate that sometimes people can fail despite doing everything right. Sports involve winning or losing, which is inevitable for any team (Flores-Szwagrzak & Treibich, 2020). In life, people can fail in businesses, careers, marriage, or innovative projects. It is the responsibility of individuals to work hard with determination to overcome the problem. For example. Usain Bolt once said that “there are great starters, but I am a great finisher” (Baena, 2019). People should not give up on school projects or work-related tasks simply because they present challenges in the initial stages (Flores-Szwagrzak & Treibich, 2020). The focus is to strive and achieve the end goal like Usain Bolt. Tiger Woods would encourage people by saying that, “the greatest thing is that I will be better than I am today” (Flores-Szwagrzak & Treibich, 2020). When people realize they can consistently achieve better results despite past failures, they will be successful in life.
Sporting activities have essential lessons about defeats. Losing is inevitable in competitive sports. People lose games that they anticipated to win, despite their preparedness. Children who do not experience defeats and losses are in for a rude shock in life (Verner-Filion et al., 2018). In life, people lose business projects, lose their life partners, assets, and natural hazards pose a risk to their success. The important lesson is that life has success stories and defeats. Defeats provide an opportunity to learn and perform better the next day (Verner-Filion et al., 2018). Serena Williams once said that “I don’t like to lose — at anything …. Yet I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks. If winning is God’s reward, then losing is how he teaches us” (Verner-Filion et al., 2018). Defeat is an opportunity to improve on weaknesses for better performance. Without defeats and losses, people cannot experience the joy of winning.
People like winning and always anticipate receiving the medal after defeating their competitors. The joy of embracing victory should not decrease when defeat comes. Michael Jordan once said that defeat should not stop a player from playing the game (Borges et al., 2017). Embracing defeat is a better approach in life. It helps people to avoid perceiving defeat as the end of the story. Life has many defeats that can lead to discouragement. The focus is to embrace the defeat and prepare for a better comeback (Borges et al., 2017). Business people learn the art of embracing losses when they remain hopeful for better days ahead
Competitive sports teach people essential lessons that nothing is earned quickly. Victory comes after strenuous exercises. Life is full of challenges, especially during the pandemic. To overcome the challenges, people need to apply extra effort (Borges et al., 2017). For example, people need to remain innovative even after the pandemic disrupts their daily activities. Players have to wake up early, run when it is raining, forego the morning sleep, eat healthy meals, and adhere to the set rules. The training program is not likable to some people, but it the training ground for success (Baena, 2019). People should put extra effort into preparing for the success they are anticipating.
Conclusion
Competitive sports provide critical lessons for students, professionals, parents, and leaders. The lessons indicate that people need help when the situation gets worse. Teamwork is vital to reduce the chances of defeat. Defeat is inevitable even after thorough preparation. Individuals should prepare adequately for future challenges after losing. Losing a game or a business deal is not the end of the story. Usain Bolt acknowledges that finishing well is the determinant of success or failure. To prepare for the future, people have to go the extra mile and sacrifice to attain the success they aspire.
References
Baena, V. (2019). Global marketing strategy in professional sports. Lessons from FC Bayern Munich. Soccer & Society, 20(4), 660-674.
Borges, P. H., Guilherme, J., Rechenchosky, L., da Costa, L. C. A., & Rinadi, W. (2017). Fundamental tactical principles of soccer: a comparison of different age groups. Journal of Human Kinetics, 58, 207.
Flores-Szwagrzak, K., & Treibich, R. (2020). Teamwork and individual productivity. Management Science, 66(6), 2523-2544.
Verner-Filion, J., Schellenberg, B. J., Rapaport, M., Bélanger, J. J., & Vallerand, R. J. (2018). “The thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat”: Passion and emotional reactions to success and failure among recreational golfers. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 40(5), 280-283.
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