Today I played tennis with my partner. Two big things came up for me which showed me how great sport can be for wellbeing:
Challenging the ego
Firstly, I find that playing sport can easily damage my ego, especially when it is a one on one sport rather than a team sport. According to this post by Elyse Santilli, when your ego is in charge:
- You need validation
- You are easily bruised when things don't go your way
- You are consumed by emotions
- Your worth is dependent on external things
Winning is fun, but my ego puts a lot of pressure on me winning at things. Because I am very aware of it I find it enjoyable to notice my ego, let its pressures go and focus on what's really important. Today I made sure to remind myself that winning is not the important thing - enjoying spending time with my partner was the important thing today.
Mindfulness
Firstly, sport is mindful. We scored, but after getting to 30-15 it was hard to stay on track and remember what our scores were. Remembering our scores and playing at the same time took up a lot of our focus, and distracting thoughts were continuously returned to the game and our scores. This distraction and returning of attention is very mindful and similar to meditation.
