Strength, Stamina and pSychology.
Health experts over the world have raved about the benefits of exercise, physical activity and games in our lives. What makes it such a vital part of our life and living? To begin with, most references go back and forth between pre-historic and modern life. The gap between active and sedentary hours in our daily lives. And how we should reduce this effectively, while highlighting the benefits of sheer movement for our body.Sports as a way of mental, physical and emotional health is what we all know about. However, sports in terms of spiritual growth is probably what they say, the stuff that legends are made of. Because, most times, we are looking and staring at super heroes in the face of sports people.
Strength
“Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan basketball
Sports challenges you in every aspect of your life. It brings you to the mirror and makes you look and stare and care about who you see inside of it. Strength is an important aspect of sports. Which does not just limit itself to the game or to the field. But, it filters down into your life. It ‘strengthens’ you. Physical strength filters into mental and then into emotional strength.
Stamina
“There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” – Derek Jeter baseball
The rigorous training, the hours, the efforts first break you and then, they make you. The player and the person. Not every one begins with running the 100 meters mark on the first day that they begin. But, no one who will train for it, will miss it or not make it eventually. Stamina is built, and sports is an aspect which does that. And again, like strength, stamina gives you that ability to push through. To go on in your life too. It prepares you to never give up and never quit. Because you have the stamina to give it your all.
pSychology
“If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it.” – Ronnie Lott american football
No matter what the game or sport, your psychological approach to it, is what makes you the player. That attitude of winning and loosing is what makes a great player. A win can make you pompous or it can give you the ability to test beyond those limits you have already pushed and accomplished. Likewise, a loss can either be a learning to improve and push you to analyse and aim for victory the next time around. It can also deem you a looser and you may never stand up again to make a comeback. It can break you down.This is again, what percolates into our life. These choices we make, as a winner or looser. This can define who we are or who we choose to become.
How we define the S in our lives and sports, defines us too.
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Dr. Aditi Gowitrikar, former Model, Mrs. India, Masters in Psychology and a mental health expert, speaking about the role sports plays in our lives. empowerment through sports especially for women in conversation with Sonali Gupta for Go Beyond Sports.