Life Lessons Learned from Sports

Today, I finally realized why sports is so important in life. As an elementary school sprinting champion, I am now able to run fast, fast enough to run after the bus that seems to always want to escape me. As a basketball point guard, where I was a dwarf amongst giants, I gained the skill to maneuver around people. Number 9! She runs, she pivots and dashes past the center, she shoots and SHE SCORES…. a seat in the jam-packed subway, that is.

In a country where the prevalent culture is “me first”, people will alawys find themselves tirelessly sprinting and skillfully dodging to get what they want. This is all fine and dancy, since it is precisely this attitude that has gained Singapore the 7th highest GDP per capita in the world despite being just a small town 20 years ago. It is, however, not so dandy  when people start making irresponsible shortcuts to satiate their own desires, at the expense of others.

With that said, there one last thing last should learn from sports – the spirit of sportsmanship. Coming in first is great when you play fair and square. Among the many reason, there is one simple reason that any sportsmen can understand; there is simply no glory in winning a rigged game