Sports are a celebration of being human. They symbolize and encapsulate competition and cooperation, tenacity, skill, mental toughness, physical excellence, and sportsmanship. They are a celebration of who we think we are, what we prize most highly, and how we can strive for more. For thousands of years, the sport has been a crucial part of most good education systems, for good reason. Whether the sport is played as an individual or as a team, it has important life lessons to teach us which carry over into the rest of life, and which apply to business, politics, teamwork, leadership, and our family life.
Sport teaches both mental and physical agility. Sport teaches us to time our run and to tolerate and overcome physical pain and limitations. Sport is about thinking and strategizing, and it’s about mental toughness and resilience.
Ultimately, sport is more about the mental challenge than the physical one, ask any of my teammates from my tennis team and you will get an amen from this one!
Sport teaches us sportsmanship, which is essentially how to handle ourselves with grace, dignity, and humility in victory and defeat, I always stay seated and watch how the players interact with one another when the game is finished, that’s when you see true sportsmanship, grace and honor, be sure to point this out to your kids as well.
We are almost into little league season so this reminder goes to all parents who play an important role in the stands of a little league field, whether we are participants or spectators, to be good sports there can be no complaints, tantrums, weaknesses, or bad grace, and the only tears we are allowed to shed are tears of joy.
In work and the rest of life, sport reminds us to do better, last longer, be stronger, and aim higher. And strive, individually and in teams.
Let’s Play Ball!
