The late, great Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant once said that his experience in the Olympics felt special because of the respect he had for other athletes. “I understand what they put their body through to get there, and so there’s so much mutual respect and admiration.” (Source: What the Olympics Meant to Kobe Bryant (Olympics.com))
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It’s been a month since the quadrennial celebration of the heights of human physical and mental strength, where this year, more than 10,000 elite athletes vied to be crowned the best in their sport.
And while some came out on top, some did not.
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As an industry in itself, sports also sells drama, whether fiction (films) or nonfiction (sporting events, films based on true stories, documentaries, etc).
Rarely will you see sports filmsending in defeat, not if the scriptwriters can help it.
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In reality, compared to the probability of winning, the probability of losing, in pure numbers is just higher. Think of how many train and join a race or a competition, for only one to come out on top. All competitions will end in defeat for some, even crushing defeat at that.
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What else can drag a human being (willingly) through the depths of both physical and emotional pain the way sports can?
And even when they can’t do it anymore, the experience is so life-changing and indelible they even write books about it or letters to it, like Kobe did, with his award-winning poem, “Dear Basketball.”
The “Losers” documentary on Netflix is like a love letter to sports, though it may be, or feel, unrequited.
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Why do athletes put themselves through it in the first place?
Sled dog musher Aily Zirkle braved the Iditarod sled dog race, a 1,510-km sled dog race through Alaskan snow, not once, but 21 times. This in spite of the heartache of finishing second place 3 years in a row, and the trauma of an assailant trying to kill her during one of the races.
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Olympian Mauro Prosper joined the Marathon des Sables - an ultramarathon that takes place over 5 days through the Sahara.
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During his first try, he is blown off course by a sandstorm, is lost for 9 days, ends up in a different country and comes close to a dry, lonely death in the middle of the desert.
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To the shock of the public, and even his inner circle, he recovers and reenters the annual marathon for several years thereafter.
Regardless of the outcome, there is an intrinsic joy that comes with playing, that make mostathletes go back to the sport even after losing contests in them.
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Why do athletes keep coming back to sports, and why did humankind come up with it at all in the first place?
Besides sports’ ability to unite, build fine qualities like character, discipline, and sportsmanship that can be used in other areas of life… a personal theory of mine is that it may also bebecause of the experience Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls “flow.”
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According to him, “The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times . . . The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”
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These moments are how it feels to be in a state of flow.
Reflect on which activities you notice yourself being completely absorbed doing something challenging but fulfilling.Flow activities are not limited to sports. It can be video games, art, music, cooking, doing work that you enjoy, and so on and so forth.
These activities are sure to give you a happiness boost.
What are those activities for you? Let us know in the comments box!
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