5 LESSONS FROM THE GAMES

5 LESSONS FROM THE GAMES

The fantastic summer of games we’ve enjoyed has thrilled audiences and inspired generations from all walks of life. We summarise five important lessons to take from the events, to help you improve your fitness, health and self-fulfilment.

INSPIRATION

With so many heroes doing such great things, it’s easy to be inspired – and we should be! In an interview, Dame Kelly Holmes said that “London 2012 has the ability to inspire people from so many walks of life, and so many abilities and disabilities, to get involved in sport .” She herself was inspired to greatness by watching Sebastian Coe win gold in 1984. Take a leaf out of Dame Kelly’s book and get some ambition to be best that you can be.

DEDICATION

Once you have chosen your role-models and set out your goals, you must stick with it! Richard Alexander from the GB Hockey team says “Don’t put exercise off till later. The longer you leave it the greater the chance that something may come up or distract you. And if you can’t do the full workout, do what you can… five press ups/sit ups a day before bed is an extra 1825 a year.” Dedication  is the key to attaining your goals in life – whatever they may be. The most successful people are those that are always working towards their targets, whatever their mood or however they’re feeling.

TRY SOMETHING NEW

Are you a “yes man”? You should be! Saying yes to things is the best way to find new opportunities that could lead to all sorts of life benefits. With all the media coverage of even the most obscure events, lots of sports have seen massive rises in popularity as a result of the games. Even Usain Bolt may try something new, with reports that he may move on to other events such as the long jump . The London 2012 has a great website to get you into some new sports, so say “yes” and check it out: click here.

DON’T LET FAILURE STOP YOU

Possibly the greatest lesson to take from the Paralympic games is that even when life gives you a tough time, you can still achieve great things. If something goes wrong, it is easy to give up and go home. Pick yourself up, try again, ask for help, try a different approach, adapt or simply work harder – do whatever it takes to keep going and get back on track. To be superhuman and to know true greatness, you have to know failure first.

NO SHORTCUTS, JUST HARD WORK

It goes without saying that true success comes from pure hard work. “The chief lesson of the Olympics is that success does not come without hard work, and lots of it .” Mo Farah said that his success at the Olympics was down to hard work and “grafting”, and Andy Murray proved that after years of struggling and falling behind, he had what it took become a champion . These sport heroes show us that whatever we deem “success” to be, hard work is the best way we can achieve it. From a totally different perspective, this moral has spilled over into Conservative viewpoints (click for reference) in an attempt to “make Brittain great again”. Despite how you vote or where you stand politically, a summer of great games has shown us that being dedicated and working hard is the best way to realise great results.

What did you take from the games? Which of these points means the most to you? Leave us a comment below and support Fitness Matters.