Keep up the Spirit of Sportsmanship!

Life is tough and the journey is hardly smooth for everyone. People experience setbacks, commit irreversible mistakes, and sometimes, fail miserably.  Often, they find themselves at crossroads and think about how they let themselves come to this point of life. There are situations when life seems gloomy as no one is supporting you. You feel as if this is the end of the road. And that’s where your sportsmanship would come to your rescue. 

Sportsmanship teaches that it’s not necessary to win every battle in life rather, it’s necessary to take part in the game and keep trying. You might have lost a small battle, but if your spirit is still high, that means you have won an important battle – the one that you fought within yourself. 

Further, having a sporting spirit is not just about getting better than the opponent, but it’s also about enduring and persevering despite challenges along the way. 

So, choose sportsmanship when the situations try to challenge you and make it a way of life. Once you start following it you will start giving importance to discipline and perseverance. It will motivate you to do your best and will also boost your confidence.

How Lord Krishna Teaches Sportsmanship

Strive to move forward in life with a strong sporting mentality and try to maintain balance in every situation, be it victory or failure. Be like the ‘Sthitpragya’ (Pure Intellect). In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna has described this as a state of mind when seekers are one with God. At such a point, their mind remains immersed in the super consciousness of God. These seekers are not distracted by worldly situations as they have attained the state of ‘Pure Intellect’. They have reached a state of Bliss, and their mind is steady without any desire. They delight in the ‘Self’ and disport in the Self enjoying various dimensions of life. 

Their mind is not shaken by losses and failures. They do not hanker after victories and are free from fear and anger. And such men have real sportsmanship in them.  Under any situation, they ‘move’, ‘learn’ and ‘discover’ to live a high-spirited life. 

Deal with Challenges through Sportsmanship

Good sportsmanship involves diverse aspects of a man’s character, the most essential being ‘respect’. A sportsperson respects both his teammates and opponents and plays the game with honesty.  Likewise, a man of values respects all without any prejudice.  A sportsperson is unselfish in his wish to see all his mates participate in the game fairly. Again, such a person is humble in victories, and has a wise perspective on losses. 

In short, the virtues that go in to making a good human being are the same ones that contribute to being a high-spirited sportsperson.

In life too, man should try to work hard and play life wisely. Let not failures tarnish your character nor any victory make you egotistical. Always remember, life is all about performing your duties well and leaving the results in the hand of God.

So, do not worry about setbacks and failures. Just live like a virtuous sportsman to ‘move’, ‘learn’ and ‘discover’ fresh chapters in your everyday life.