Why Sports Is No Different from Writing
The national football teams of Mexico and Nigeria are playing in Atlanta, one of those matches that may predict the teams that can go the distance in the FIFA World Cup. Both teams will play in Brazil in a few months, so this game can determine which players will don the national colors. Meanwhile, Roger Federer attempts to win his fifth Indian Well Masters title - and extend his winning streak. His victory at the Dubai Tennis Championships (a few weeks ago) is a comeback of sort, after a year and a half of sub par results. The Winter Olympics may be over, but fans of ice hockey can look forward to the Stanley Cup.
Sports is about who is the fastest, highest, and strongest. It takes Herculean effort to achieve first place. The desired results don't happen overnight, but that's sports for you. As most champions have shown, setback encourages them to try harder. It's no different from writing, which may sound odd at first.
It's not.
Writing can also be the fastest, highest, and strongest. Students can relate to it, also those who make a living on words. Hard to believe, but here are five reasons why sports and writing are alike:
1. Like sports, writing is striving. Novelists must be thick-skinned, as the publishing industry has lots of critics. One can't be good enough, which is why some authors don't take their craft too seriously. This may be a good topic for another post, but in this case, they try to do better, if not be consistently good. After all, one is as good as one's last writing.
2. Like sports, writing is about dedication. It's no surprise that athletes don't lead normal lives, such as they don't socialize every weekend. They also can't afford to indulge. If they want to be winners, then they must commit, even sacrifice some things. This can be difficult, if not impossible. But it can be done with a willful mind. This is what writing also requires.
3. Like sports, writing is about discipline. Athletes must be able to abide by a set of rules in able to reach that level where they can perform well. It's the same thing with writing, but let's not confuse it with loafing, which some do as a necessity. (The writing process is no routine job.) In this case, it's about keeping in mind on conciseness and not forgetting to proofread, as this is an opportunity to check on grammar, sentence structure, and ambiguous/vague statement(s).
4. Like sports, writing can be demanding. Athletes can give much, but there are instances when they fall short. So they give more. This is what writers go through, or artists in general. This is one of the reasons that the life of a writer (or athlete) is unconventional.
5. Like sports, writing can be lifelong. Most athletes don't leave the sports once their career is over; they venture into coaching or any job connected to it. They are passionate about it, even loving it. Ditto with writing, where an author can share his/her knowledge through teaching or do any related job. They also read, which in this line of profession, is the only way to keep fit.
