By: Rich Sadiv
To paraphrase an old adage about athletics: competing in a sport will almost always teach you some foundational lesson about life in general. As both a trainer and parent of athletes – and as a long-time athlete myself – I can attest to this fact. All sports, regardless of goal or structure, are symbolic of the human condition, as they involve establishing a goal, coming up with a plan to meet that goal, and putting in the work necessary to make that goal a reality.
You may be preparing for a career in professional athletics, fine-tuning your pitching technique, or simply trying to finish a 5k for the first time – regardless of purpose, the journey’s benefits are relative, and afterward, you’ll most likely find that your accomplishments have transcended sports alone, preparing you for a more balanced and successful life.
It’s no secret that athletics offer countless opportunities to establish and develop crucial life skills and characteristics. Like life itself, sports are full of challenges unique to your experience level and vision for the future – everything from performance-related expectations to interpersonal matters within the team. Athletes have the privilege of becoming quickly acquainted with such factors, learning from them, and committing those lessons to habit in both good and bad situations.
For instance, say you are a track athlete who, following months of hard training and lifestyle adjustment, came up short of a new personal record or qualifying standard to close out your season. You may react in a passionate, raw manner, cycling through feelings of anger, sadness, and helplessness and possibly even resenting your sport as a whole. However, in time, you learn to accept the disappointment as a step toward a future goal, eventually gaining a fresh perspective and channeling it into your next training block. Then, when another setback occurs, you are weathered from the previous experience and able to have a shorter memory in getting back to work. These traits are among the most paramount for almost any life scenario, from hindrances at work to unexpected homeowner challenges, and they will make you more solution-focused and less likely to compound a problem by impulsively spiraling into wallowing.
On the social side, a negative interaction with a teammate or coach may teach you to compartmentalize pride and personal offense, focusing instead on productive resolution and conversation that helps you find common ground and remain focused on overarching team goals. This adaptability may, in turn, make you stronger and more level-headed in the face of work- or family-related situations warranting a controlled, forward-thinking approach for everyone’s benefit. If you have a healthy, transparent relationship with your coach, you might also benefit from learning the values of feedback-driven communication and constructive criticism – concepts actively redefining today’s working world for the better. These experiences will shape your future demeanor into one of composure, integrity, and dynamic leadership, allowing you to better approach hurdles, celebrate success, and frame failure in a positive light.
Athletics are not the end-all or be-all of life lesson learning, but they are among the best outlets for honing such skills, and while many sports are fundamentally changing by the year, these underlying principles will remain constant forever.
Published by: Martin De Juan
