17 Life Lessons Learned Through Sports

Now that football season is finally over, we can take a step back and look at sports from a more objective angle with this list of 17 life lessons learned through sports.

If your childhood was anything like mine, you probably had to play sports at some point. Not that you were necessarily forced, but your parents probably put you on some type of sports team to help you develop social skills and be “active” or whatever. I played soccer when I was a kid and I liked it until I realized I hated being outside and playing games and preferred the part where we ate snacks. Thankfully a “knee injury” convinced my parents to let me quit so I could join Girl Scouts (for the cookies, of course). I will say, though, that sports were fairly educational. I mean you have to learn about the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship and all that jazz.

Sports helps you develop a sense of goals and purpose since it takes a lot of practice to really succeed. By setting goals you’re more likely to have a positive result, and that’s a lesson that can be applied all throughout life and not just during a soccer game, for example. These will help you for the long run. If you’re really in the mood for some self-help and life lessons, take a look at our list of the 11 Most Valuable Lessons Children Learn From Sports. You might find a few that are familiar!

To create this list of the 17 life lessons learned through sports, I consulted a few websites like Coaching Positive Performance, Keep Inspiring, and A Plus. I took their top suggestions that I think are the best and most important and created this list based on that.

17. Keep your focus on the goal:

Just like in sports, you must always a have goal or aim in life. Regardless of distractions or difficulties, you must get to the goal within a preset time. Of course, achieving your objective will not be easy, but you must keep on trying regardless of any hardships.

16. If you don’t follow the rules, you cannot win:

This one is among the most powerful lessons on our list of life lessons learned through sports. There are no shortcuts to success, period. There will be temptations along the way and you may encounter situations in life where bending or breaking a few rules may seem beneficial; however, in the long run, you will lose if you break the rules.

15. Identify your skills and improve your game:

Each individual is unique has their own set of strengths and weaknesses. It is always better to stick to things that you are good at, all the while working to improve and overcome your shortcomings.

14. Always ask the coach for suggestions:

Depending on your perspective, this “coach figure” can be your conscience, your inner wisdom, or whatever suits your understanding of life. It helps a lot when you’re facing difficult situations, and by conversing with your coach, you will always know what is the right thing to do and how to stay true to your core beliefs.

13. Turn every mistake into a lesson:

Just like on the field, you will make mistakes in life. As the great philosopher Hannah Montana once said, nobody’s perfect, and it is only human to make mistakes. However, if you can’t let go and you keep beating yourself up for past mistakes, you will lose focus and eventually lose the game. Therefore, learn from the mistakes you make, and move on ASAP if you want to win in life. Let’s see what’s next on our list of life lessons learned through sports.

12. Improve your game and your character:

In a game, performing better than your peers and competitors is not enough. More emphasis should be placed on how you play the game. Just think about the people you look up to. Certainly you can see that these people are best at what they do, but it is more likely that you admire them because of their character traits more than anything else.

11. Limitations are only as real as you make them:

Everyone must overcome their own difficulties. Everyone has their own limitations. The trick that athletes use is they reject their limitations. If you reject your limitations, you will find that your body is capable of much more than you ever imagined possible. What you believe, you will achieve. You have to visualize yourself achieving the things you want in life before you can actually make it come true.

10. Be a team player: 

In sports, achieving the objective is a team effort, just like in real life. You will need people to push you, give you suggestions, and work with and for you. A person can only do so much on their own. Unless you are willing to work with people towards your goals, you are going to have a very difficult time.

9. Show sportsmanship:

We are continuing our list of life lessons learned through sports with one that teaches us that when you walk onto the field, there is no guarantee that you will always win. Defeat is something you should not expect, but nonetheless, be prepared for. Regardless of the outcome, you must handle it both with dignity and sportsmanship. Never let your success or defeat dictate your actions. Always be a true sportsman.

8. Surround yourself with success:

The best way to better your game is to train with the best. Of course, you can expect to fall behind when you are going to toe-to-toe with the best, but in the end, this will help you improve performance and push to overcome your limits. In life, this technique can also be used with remarkable results.

7. Accept your fear of failures and then crush them:

In life, you will find yourself making excuses for not taking an opportunity. However, all of these excuses are a mere smokescreen that you have created to shroud your fear of defeat. After all, you miss all the shots that you don’t take, so try not to make excuses. Just be competitive and try your best at every opportunity. This is super important, which is why it ranks on the 17 life lessons learned through sports.

6. Push yourself out of your comfort zone:

Every successful athlete knows that the best way to better their game is to challenge themselves. In order to truly challenge oneself, they must step out of their comfort zone. The greater the risk, the greater the glory. If you wish to make it big in life, you must take risks and believe in yourself. Your comfort zone is a mere barrier holding you back from your potential.

5. How to be a good leader:

Just like in sports, there will come a time when you must lead your squad through a difficult situation. The best way to lead is to lead by example. Acquire the qualities you wish to see in your followers yourself and do the things that you need your followers to do. Allow them second chances and teach them the skills they need.

4. How to be a good follower:

Just like in a game, in real life sometimes you have to carry out orders for your leader. A good follower will always execute the task assigned to them to win the game or achieve the objective. Just imagine your employer as your coach. It is crucial that you work for your leader in order to help them achieve their goal, and in turn, you will achieve yours.

3. Success demands sacrifice:

The lesson number three on our list of life lessons learned through sports teaches us that success is not an easy thing to achieve. If you want success, you will have to make sacrifices. You will have to spend a lot of time training and bettering yourself. Time is the most valuable resource a person has to offer, and you must invest a lot of it in order to be successful in sports and in life.

2. Life is not always fair:

Despite all your efforts, things will go wrong. There are only so many things you can actively control, and countless other things that are beyond you. Things that you cannot control will make it hard for you. In sports and in real life, you will find people mistreating you or doing things you disagree with, but you cannot let these things set your off course. They are mere distractions and you must learn to avoid them.

1. Practice makes perfect:

This is true about everything, whether it be in sports or your work. The more you practice, the better the results you can expect. A game lasts minutes, but the players taking part in it train for years. If you want success in life, you must start training accordingly and put in the hard work. The more you practice the more you will be better at doing things the right way.

That concludes our list of 17 life lessons learned through sports. These are things that can be applied in all areas of life and are extremely important for individual growth.