Sport as a model of life

Second, sport is one of the most positive transformers of spare time and energy. Consider an all too familiar observation: when schooling becomes too easy for a child, they start “looking for trouble”: unless, of course, they have other meaningful commitments to occupy their spare time to the brim. And sport is one of the best candidates for this time-filling role, along with various artistic pursuits (and beating them in terms of health benefits).

Educators of all ages know that spare time means trouble - especially with children and adolescents. It leads the young person, almost invariably, to travelling down the path of least resistance. And modern society offers no shortage of such paths, laced with consumerism and a culture of inflated egos and self-entitlement. In fact, modern adults are not immune to this temptation either. “Paths of least resistance” all too often lead away from their own long-term goals and values to what’s immediately more pleasurable, such as consumerism. “Having” is seen by many as more important in life than “being”, and instant “having” as better than delayed “having”.

In this regard, sport is much more than a simple time-filler. It offers, perhaps, the most natural opportunity to discover the pleasures of one’s own constructive effort. And this opportunity works at both physical and psychological levels.

First, the physical side of sport - rigorous exercising - is immediately rewarding through a range of neuro-chemical brain responses (such as endorphins). It also leads, through recovery, to increased fitness and feelings of confidence, which act as longer-term rewards.

Second, sport offers feedback opportunities that are, arguably, as immediate, transparent and fair as they get in human affairs. Through this feedback we learn, very quickly, the pleasures of growing mastery - fair praise, opportunities to recover from mistakes and setbacks, and encouragement for getting better next time. Fortunately sport, at its grassroots at least, is not infested with false praise and unearned promotions. And this breeds persistence and dedication: the only way to recover from getting beaten in an athletic contest at any level is to take it on the chin, learn from it and ask for more challenge. And yes - to sweat through what is usually a protracted journey of self-improvement.

Incidentally, sport psychologists have known for a long time that the hallmarks of a true champion - a sporting star - have nothing to do with strings of easy wins but everything to do with an ability to recover from errors, regroup and rebound from setbacks.

In summary, sport is a rare human endeavour that provides an opportunity - even for the uninitiated - to enjoy both its results (a win, a well executed movement, or the growing physical competence in the long run) and its process (the effort). With regards to effort, some sports are more novice-friendly than others - for example, tennis requires a far more advanced level of skill for a useful cardio work-out than, say, basketball or jogging. While a “tennis dummy” may stay “cold” for the most part of their first few training sessions (simply because their lack of skill prevents them from exerting much effort), basketball and jogging starters are assured of a good sweating workout “from the word go”.

Sweating, literally, is required to reap the physical benefits of exercising and this is what your doctor would recommend. Sweating, figuratively, through difficulties, temptations and setbacks towards your long-term goals, is a far less popular endeavour in the modern culture of instant gratification.

The good news is it can be learned by extension from physical sweating, which is a natural, intrinsically pleasurable process - our body has physiological mechanisms that reward physical exertion yielding sweat (if your personal experience disagrees, you must have had a bad run with your first PE instructor). Any youth coach knows that until kids learn to “enjoy sweating through effort” they stand little chance of making progress in their sport. And this learning implicitly teaches a much bigger idea - that getting tired as a result of sustained, deliberate effort is “good” in itself, quite in addition to all the good things it leads to (such as, better skill, improved fitness or greater chance of winning).

So, instead of tolerating discomfort, sport teaches you to embrace it. Hard work ceases to be a curse, it becomes a blessing, even before yielding its fruit. From that grows a natural interest in extending your comfort zone, you begin to enjoy pushing and trespassing its boundaries, actively exploring your own weaknesses and aiming to overcome them - in sum, being able and willing to improve and transcend yourself.

True sporting heroes epitomise these types of scenarios and personal qualities. They are not flawless, nor should we expect them to be. But they show us how the willingness to learn from own failings gives you much more than an absence of a flaw, it gives the ability to overcome different flaws, now and in the future, as well as lifting yourself from wherever you are to becoming an even better human being. And that’s a real good model to strive for.