8 Life Lessons You Can Learn From Sport | Fusion - WeRIndia

From a very young age, our parents and teachers encourage us to participate in different sports. Is this only to learn the sport or get some exercise? Not at all. Sports teach you a number of important of life lessons that you will carry with you all your life.

Let’s take a look at 8 key life lessons you will learn by participating in sports.

1. How to Become Goal-Oriented

When you play any sport, your goal is to win the match. From training sessions to finally playing in the field your focus remains on the goal: that is, to win the game. If you participate in sports regularly, you will become goal-oriented in other parts of your life as well. If you want to become a great surgeon, for example, you will do everything to achieve your goal, from preparing to get into a good medical school, doing well in exams, and seeking internship opportunities.

2. Take Chances in Life

In sport, sometimes you have to take chances to win the match. As the great hockey player Gretzky said, ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.’ It may be comfortable to play it safe, but if you don’t experiment you will never know what you are capable of.

In life you also need to take chances. Just because you are earning a decent wage doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take up the opportunity to get a better job that can give you more than just a handsome paycheck. It can give you room to grow and achieve things you had never thought possible. Legendary business tycoon Warren Buffet took many chances in terms of investment: some were successful and others weren’t. Today he is one of the most successful figures in the business world.

3. It’s OK to Fail Sometimes

In sport, one team wins and the other doesn’t. That doesn’t stop the losing team from playing the next match. If you are involved in sports, you will learn to use the same principle in your everyday life as well. The famous basketball player Michael Jordan said, ‘I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.’

When you fail in sports, you learn from your mistakes and try to play better at the next match. In life too, if you fail to succeed in an exam or a job interview, then it allows you to learn from the experience and try again.

4. Perseverance is Key

Sport teaches you about perseverance. Athletes often suffer from injuries and other setbacks, and there are times when they have to compete with other players to get into a team. Athletes quickly learn to keep trying and overcome these challenges. This is a lesson that is easily applicable to other areas of life, from your career to your personal life.

5. Time Management Skills

When you join any sports club, you have to be on time training. Time management is essential in other areas of life too. When you enter the job market, you will see that you are better than others at

completing projects on time. Good time management skills also make you disciplined and more successful in work and life.

6. Leadership Skills

When you are part of a sports team you will be led by a coach. You learn how they manage all the players, listen to their problems, and in turn, earn their loyalty. When you become the captain of a team, you have to manage all the other players and inspire them to play well. In other parts of life, you will be able to apply your leadership skills if you learn them early in your life through participating in sport.

7. The Importance of Teamwork

When you play a team sport like cricket, football, basketball, or any other similar sport, you need to learn how to work as a team. Individual performance matters, but the team performance is the most important. If you perform well and the rest of the players don’t then you won’t win the match. As a team member you must ensure that you cooperate with the other players so that you can win the match together. These team work skills can then be applied to work and other areas of your life.

8. How to Be Accountable

Whether you are part of a team or playing individually, in sport you must be accountable for your actions. You are also accountable for your teammates. Being accountable makes you more responsible. This will make you more responsible in the workplace and family life as well.

Participating in any sport is not only good for your physical and mental health, but you will also learn some great life lessons. These lessons will help you to do well in your job, have a happy family life, and be successful in every way.

David from Washington, DC, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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