As human beings, we learn life skills from our parents, friends, teachers and also through self-realization. Other than these conventional channels of learning, one of the best available sources for learning life skills is sports. Sports is a combination of entertainment and providing moral lessons that help in developing leadership skills.
You may wonder, how does sports help in learning life lessons? Let’s take Olympics as an example, as it the most popular and favorite sporting event for people around the world. Once in every four years (well, around five years this time due to Covid), this competition brings together the world’s best athletes to compete with each other. Generally, during Olympics, a sense of patriotism grows and people enthusiastically look at and enjoy a range of sports right from gymnastics, football, hockey, wrestling, archery, and many more.
But is it only the medals that we’ve been competing for? Certainly not!
Sports is not always about winning. They also impart important learnings like realizing the values of cooperation, sharing, competing and complementing. Playing any sport is a vital part of our development as it teaches us discipline, teamwork, builds self confidence and brings about emotional stability.
Here are the top 10 life lessons, we took from binge-watching Olympic Games held during the past few weeks in Tokyo.
(1) Perseverance – The great element of success
Perseverance is about pursuing a goal and developing an ability to deal with the outcome (irrespective of success/failure) as things progress. Perseverance is about doing the right things including setting the right goal and keeping yourself mentally strong. Modern-day lesson on perseverance can be learned from Tokyo Olympics through the story of Angelina Melnikova.
Angelina Melnikova, a Russian artistic gymnast had previously represented Russia at 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio and had won a silver medal. After ending the Rio Olympics in tears, she didn’t think of quitting gymnastics. Instead, she worked with perseverance and after dedicated training she transformed herself into a fiercely determined and hard-working gymnast.
Melnikova arrived in Tokyo, with a new determination and passion. After a series of grueling contests and under severe pressure, Melnikova and her team beat the U.S and Great Britain to lift the Tokyo 2020 women’s team title.
A 16-year old girl, who lost a victory in the glimpse of the moment at Rio Olympics, transforming into a pursuant-matured 21-year-old in Tokyo, stands as a perfect example for portraying the perseverance principle.
You can watch the full journey of Angelina Melnikova.
(2) Never underestimate anyone:
There is a famous English idiom saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, which means one should not judge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone. Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui is a perfect example for this saying at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
In the men’s 400-meter freestyle event, Ahmed Hafnaoui stunned the world by engraving his name in the gold medal. He was at the worst position of the pool (eight lane) at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre and the sports commentators focused on stars, such as Australian star Jack McLoughlin or American Kieran Smith. This teenager made history for Tunisia, by bringing home the nation’s fifth-ever gold medal and the second for the country’s swimming team.
Unknown to many, 18-year-old Ahmed gave his best in the last 50 meters and that is when the media also started paying attention to him. His gold winning performance to become an Olympic champion at Tokyo proves to be a perfect example for the saying, “Never underestimate anyone”.
(3) Unity is strength
Unity is strength, conveys a message that we should stay united under all circumstances. It has great relevance to every walk of life. When we are united, we can surpass many challenges and accomplish a goal. One person individually is not responsible for winning or losing, especially if it is a team sport. The development of any society, team or even a country depends on this spirit. The Indian women’s hockey team exhibited this spirit at the Tokyo Olympics.
Indian women’s hockey team stamped their name in history books as they qualified for the Olympic semi-finals for the first time in Tokyo. With back-to-back defeats in the initial rounds, the Indian women’s hockey team seemed to be in a state of disarray. However, they had a clear vision of their team’s goal and played in a united way. They slowly bounced back and made their entry into the quarter-finals. The clash against Australia (currently ranked 2) was probably the most challenging game for India. But, the Indian girls stormed in to the semi-finals by defeating Aussies 1-0 to create history.
Although the Indian women’s hockey team, missed winning a medal, they won the hearts of the entire Nation based on the unified effort exhibited by them as a team. Their story will motivate many of us and will be spoken for years to come.
(4) Believe in yourself:
Believing in yourself means having faith in your capabilities. When you believe in yourself, you can overcome fear/anxiety and have the confidence to take action and get things done. The inspiring story of Neeraj Chopra, an Indian athlete who battled injury and other odds to give India its first athletics gold in over a century of participation at the Olympic Games, is a true example of having belief in ourselves.
On the day of his qualification for the finals of the men’s javelin event, he made a monstrous first throw of 86.65 meters (the qualifying mark being 83.50 meters) and left the stadium early. The message that Neeraj tried to convey by leaving the stadium early was not one of arrogance but was a demonstration of his self-belief that he had given his best.
Some of the other Indian medal prospects who were also tipped to win medals could not make it as they lost their nerve when it mattered most. But Neeraj Chopra with his self-belief and composure befitting an Olympic final, provided an opportunity for all of us to stand up in awe and respect, as the Indian national anthem played at the Olympics after 13 long years.
(5) Mental strength matters more than physical strength:
Mental health is just as important as our physical health. Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Moreover, the term mental health does not directly refer to mental illness. Would you believe that the US gold medalist Simone Biles (4 times Olympic champion) pulled out of the women’s team final at the Tokyo Olympics because of mental health issues and not due to injury?
In an interview, Biles replied to questions about a condition called “twisties” – a frightening state of disassociation that prevents athletes from completing a skill and can lead to serious injury. She also added that it was honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind and body in sync.
To step out of the competition considering mental health, first took great maturity and courage from Biles, and perhaps this learning is not only limited to sports alone. Performing any work without syncing mental and physical fitness, does not work out and you would never achieve the desired results.
(6) Attitude is everything:
Human beings often tend to be trapped in an unhappy situation after facing a defeat in any part of their life. At this stage, our attitude comes in to play and is the only savior to overcome the problem by finding a solution and keep one on the right path towards achieving their goal. A 23-year-old Yusra Mardini is a living example of determination in the face of hardships. This athlete teaches us to always have a positive mindset.
Yusra Mardini is a swimmer who competes at the top level. But her biggest battle was outside the pool. The battle for life, identity, and the right to be free. This is the story of how a young woman escaped a civil war, became a refugee, and then took part in the Olympics.
During the Syrian Civil war, her house was destroyed. Along with her sister, Yusra decided to flee their homeland in 2015. When they reached Turkey, smugglers put them on a boat to Greece and when the engine failed, Mardini & her sister swam for almost three hours to reach their destination. Finally, they made it to Germany. She continued her swimming and in 2016 took part in the Olympics. She did so again in 2020 and also carried the flag of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
At 23, this woman has already lived a lifetime. But she is a survivor who is marching on and is not looking back. Be it inside or outside the pool, Yusra takes on all challenges with her positive attitude.
You can watch the full journey of Yusra Mardini.
(7) Age is just a number:
Next time, when you hear someone say, “You are too young to achieve anything”, tell them the story of Momji Nishiya who won a gold medal in a skateboarding event at the Tokyo Olympics.
For the first time in the history of the Olympics, Skateboarding sport has been added as an Olympic sport this year and it witnessed several teenage athletes from different countries. The one who stole the limelight was a 13-year-old girl, Momiji Nishiya from Japan.
At the age of 13, Marjorie Gestring won the gold medal in 3-meter springboard diving at 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, making her the youngest person ever to win an Olympic gold medal. After 80+ years, this record has been equalized by Momiji Nishiya at the Tokyo Olympics.
(8) Sportsmanship:
Friendship is indeed a precious bonding that one can cherish for life and we witnessed this at the Tokyo Olympics too! But maintaining friendly relations without compromising on the spirit of sportsmanship is indeed a rare characteristic!
Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar were tied in first place for the men’s high jump competition. But after being offered the chance to settle the competition with a jump-off, Barshim asked if they could share the gold medal instead.
When the officials confirmed it was allowed, it didn’t take long for both athletes to accept and the gold medal has been shared by both of them.
The sportsmanship demonstrated by Barshim serves as the greatest learning for today’s younger generations to follow both in sports and life too!
(9) Develop the quality of Resilience
The ability to pick yourself up from a disaster, and rising again is called resilience. It is an important parameter that everyone must possess, be it in sports or day-to-day life. Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan is a modern-day example for us to follow with regard to adopting resilience.
Sifan Hassan’s attempt to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics’ 1,500-meter was almost derailed after the world champion tripped over just 300m from the finish line of her 1,500m heat, and fell to the ground. However, the crash did not deter the Dutch runner’s winning spirit as she immediately got back on her feet and overtook others to win the race.
In an interview, Hassan said the thought of quitting crossed her mind for a split second, but told herself that she didn’t want to regret it later and was not prepared for any excuses.
(10) No one can win always:
This is a bitter lesson to learn, but it is an ultimate truth that we have to realize practically. All athletes who participate in any competition undergo several hours of practice, for years, handle heavy pressures and challenges along the way to give their best. Yet, not every athlete goes home with a medal.
Participation is more important than winning and it’s the journey, and the hard work that goes in, which counts the most, and it this effort that is likely to help them win a medal in the future.
This is an important lesson that we should learn, that whatever happens, life is a long journey that doesn’t just depend upon success or failure.
The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to win it without a struggle would also mean that the win is without honor. If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved says Samuel smiles.
Key takeaway:
Sport has the power to motivate us, help us learn, and discover more about ourselves. It prepares us to face any situation and makes us battle ready. The way the athletes demonstrated this at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics taught us a lot and these learnings are capable of transforming one’s life in more ways than you can imagine.
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