22.2.14

Sports: 5 Things We Can Learn From the Sochi Olympics

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” Michael Jordan 

Sochi Olympic Rings at Olympic Park

Sportsmanship is key.

Persistence and Practice pay off.

The 2014 Winter Olympics also known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics  are being held in Sochi, Russia. It's the first time that Russia has hosted the games and, while there have been some challenges, they have put on a great event. The games started on February 7th and will run it's course on the 23rd. Next stop will be South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics. It will be held in the city of Pyeongchang. The Olympics is such a wonderful training ground for anyone who wants to learn or be reminded of what it takes to become a world champion at anything we do; Practice, practice, practice. 17-year-old Adelina Sotnikova beat figure skating defending champion and favorite, Yuna Kim of South Korea,  to win Russia's first Women's Figure Skating gold.  But don't count Yuna out, she is persistent and will be ready at the next meet.  Frankly, any kind of team sports can teach us how to be persistent, brave and spirited in a positive way.


“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it." Knute Rockne
 
Opening Ceremony Of the XX11 - 22nd Winter Olympics In Sochi, Russia

Giving Your Best is better than merely beating an opponent

Upsets Happen, chin up and plan for 2018

The athletes focus on doing and giving their best.  They don't give up even in the face of failure. When things get tough, they buckle down, put on their game face and keep practicing and perfecting their game. They are in it to win fair and square and most don't have the Harding syndrome. Any athletes who try to abuse the games or other athletes will, eventually, show themselves up and get banned. When Team USA lost to Canada in the Women's Ice Hockey final, they were upset but admitted that Canada played a great game. They shed tears on the stand and plan to be better prepared and ready in 2018. Scheming or attacking an opponent is the wrong headed way to compete in life. It might give temporary gains but in the long term it won't work... and we all know what happened to Harding and others who went down that road.  The lessons learned in the sports arena translate well with how we handle situations in our every day lives. What behavior have you observed since the games started. What have you learned about team effort and sportsmanship?  What additional things can we say we learned?

Come back for the rest



“Be fair. Play hard.” Dan Venezia 

Olympics Symbol


Team Effort for good always trumps team effort for underhanded work.

The great thing about true team effort is that it teaches people to put their egos aside for the good of the team. There is no insidious plan to undermine specific members or the whole team for individual applause. The team wins and loses together and learns to work harder next time. When we work from a spirit of team effort, our goal is to make everyone succeed. We give our 100% and, when we fall short, we fix the problem and pick up where we left off.  Another key element we learn from team work is TRUST. When we work from a spirit of trust, we believe that all team members are working in the best interest of the team. When issues arise, we handle them fairly and treat the problem as an oversight not as a dubious attempt to hurt a team member.

Some people don't know how to be team players in life, all they care about is winning for themselves and not for others. Their behavior causes disruptions in the team and creates animosities and mistrusts. On the road to personal and professional success, winning at any/all cost is a dangerous approach. Why? Because winning at any cost to the detriment of others is not a win; people get denied their rights and reputations get tarnished.  We can choose to believe it or not, but if all that motivates us is hurting others to add notches to our belt, we have sacrificed our soul for some ephemeral glory... it won't last. So lets go team up and put our noses to the grind. Go for it!


What are your thoughts? There are no wrong answers; our views aid conversation, contemplation and sharing stories on sportsmanship. Please share your views with me in the comment section. Thanks again! If you are interested in joining the February Challenge, there are a few tips to remember:
1) The NaBloPoMo February 2014 theme is "Perspective"
2) The NaBloPoMo writing prompts are Fantastic
3)  NaBloPoMo has added a photography component to its theme and prompts
4)  I'm doing NaBloPoMo, and I'd LOVE some company.


Some Food for Thought:
What are your thoughts on the Olympics? Have you watched any of it? What conversations/experience have you had with the subject? How/Why?In what way? Happy February! Love and Peace!

I would love to hear from you: Please leave me a comment. Thank You!

PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS:
All Photographs: Sochi Opening, Sochi Olympic Ringshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sochiolympicrings.jpg,  ceremony, via Wikipedia or My Personal Collection

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
 Mirth and Motivation
 Positive Kismet
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48 comments:

  1. Those are all great take aways. Hey SOMEONE has to win and it can't always be the United States I suppose.

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  2. The olympics really is a great way for new performers to shine, and to inspire others too.

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  3. Great pointers and lots of good lessons. I think hard work is something that definitely shows in the Olympics.

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  4. We watched it every day/night and are watching the Bronze medal Men's hockey game right now (US is down 2-0...)

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  5. This is a great post. I am so glad you put all these together. I can use this with my kids when I teach about the Olympics.

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  6. It is true that hard work and coming together as a team to help support each other is good. I am trying to get to do a relay race for that very reason - so we can learn to help each other regardless of what we think/feel. I have not been able to watch most of the Olympics this year, I need to start catching up on what I missed while moving.

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  7. Great post... Being a Canadian I am happy our hockey team won :-)

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  8. Sportsmanship and learning to be a team player are very important for everyone not only athletes. All these kids really work their hearts out-no matter which country they come from and I applaud them all!

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  9. I love to see good sportsmanship among competing athletes. I think it's inspiring too, to see the athletes finish their sport with gusto, even if they've made a mistake in the meantime that is going to cost them the medal.

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  10. I didnt really watch the games but I read up on any news from it. It could be a lesson to learn.

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  11. I do like the beliefs that all Olympic games gives us of sportsmanship, harmony, and temperance for one another.

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  12. i love the sportsmanship that the Olympics brings out of people. The world comes together and beautiful things happen. It is so important to learn to support each other.

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  13. I feel like I've been living under a rock.. I didn't even know about the whole Harding thing. PFt.. time for me to update myself on something very dramatic. Great list on what we can learn. :) Team effort and good sportsmanship is key!

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  14. Playing fair and being a good sport are great attributes for all to learn. the Olympics are definitely a great way for young athlete to shine.

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  15. Yes, great points and I certainly agree to it all. I sure like watching it all. I guess it will be over soon.

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  16. I haven't watched the Olympics at all this year. But hard work does usually pay off (unfortunately not all the time though). It takes a lot of sacrifice and also sponsors or money to get to the Olympic level that some people may be good enough but can't make the other things fall into place. Seems like several Americans have represented other countries this year which I find interesting.

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  17. We really like the Olympics - it is amazing how hard they work and how they handle disappointment. I think it is so important for our youth to see the excellent team approach and good sportsmanship.

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  18. Thanks for sharing about Nablapomo has added a photo component! I hadn't seen that yet. Awesome.

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  19. I think the lesson about persistence and practice are applicable in any field. It's important to never give up.

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  20. I have always enjoyed watching the Olympics each year. While the US does not always hold first place, it is still fun to root for our country! Ice Skating is my favorite event to watch.

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  21. I think the Olympics are awesome and show great sportsmanship. I am not an avid watcher, or follower, but I can appreciate the integrity, and sport.

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  22. Sports are a great oportunity to build character traits. And it is amazing to watch what the athletes are able to do.

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  23. I have watched a little bit of it and you have some great observations. I think the team work is so important.

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  24. Great quotes! Being a team player, a hard worker, and a good sport are all so important. I'm so sad that the Olympics are ending. I've enjoyed watching the amazing athletes, their spirit and talent.

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  25. People need to learn that they can't all win. Just making it to the Olympics is a fabulous accomplishment. No one should leave disappointed or feeling like a loser.

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  26. The olympics are a waYfor people to really come together and celebrate excellence.

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  27. I'm Canadian and super super excited that Canada won the hockey game! Pretty exciting. I think these are all great lessons in teamwork and hard work :)

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  28. I love the Michael Jordan quote at the top. Such an inspiration. True...to achieve truly great things we must rely on teamwork!

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  29. Love a good reminder about the importance of showing good sportsmanship.

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  30. There are definitely lessons to be learned from the Olympics. Thanks for pointing a few out.

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  31. These are great lessons! Kids need to learn those lessons - like patience!! That's a huge one. And hard work too. So many these day don't seem to know how to work hard.

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  32. I totally agree that working as a team can make a huge difference! It's a great show of sportsmanship!

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  33. I love the quote you open with. It always takes a team effort to get the job done (and I love Michael Jordan too!).

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  34. I love team sports and I love it for the reasons you mentioned. You play together, win together, lose together... Something about knowing your team is counting on you that makes you try that much harder.

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  35. I haven't been able to watch as much of the Olympic competitions as I have in the past, but what I've seen I have really enjoyed. I appreciate your thoughts on teamwork and cooperation. I have enjoyed watching some of the friendships between parents. After all the money, time and life commitment given to support a child in these high stakes competitions, to see "competing" parents hugging and holding hands during competitions, and supporting each other, has been very uplifting. I think the games were a big success!

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  36. These are great take away tips for so many in their eery day lives, not just olympians.

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  37. Great things to look for when you watch the olympics.

    Michelle F.

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  38. No matter who wins, it really brings out the team spirit in everyone! I love the Olympics!

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  39. of course i was routing for the USA to win everything, but there is always a winner and losers.. I would Applaud every single athlete out there for their hard work and determination.

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  40. I haven't managed to watch any of the Winter Olympics as I've been so busy but I love the lessons here. Especially the persistence one. I think it's important to teach out little ones that we can't always instantly be brilliant at something; but with persistence, we can improve and be the best that we can be.

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  41. Great points! I agree we can learn a lot from the Olympics! It was a great show this year!

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  42. These are great! I love the giving your best is better than beating your opponents! I believe this truly!

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  43. Great way to wrap up the olympics and relate it to real life

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  44. Can you believe I have never watched the Olympics, ever?

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  45. i'm still watching what we recorded, couldn't get to it all and then i was sick. we LOVE to watch the olympics!

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  46. Working as a team does indeed make a BIG difference! Great reminder about the importance of showing good sportsmanship !

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  47. These are all great reminders. Thank you for sharing.

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