Life Lessons from Sports
by Joshua Levy
(Morgan Hill, CA, United States)
The main virtue Track & Field taught me was temperance. In Track & Field my main race was the one mile. The one mile race consists of four grueling laps one after another around a 400 yard oval-like track. To someone who is unfamiliar with the fundamentals and strategies of Track & Field, four laps would probably seem like nothing special. But In reality those four laps require some of the strongest levels of self-control. What I mean is I could not simply sprint the four laps (For one I am not an Olympian, and two, I don't know if an Olympian can even sprint four laps; back-to-back-to back...etc). I had to pace my-self throughout the first three laps until I could let loose the last lap.
In order to correctly pace myself I had to demonstrate high-quality temperance. That meant that I had to hold myself back during the first three laps. Some races that meant running in the very back of the pack in order shelter myself from the wind, or just to tire the other runners by running right on their backs. What was hard about running in the back of the pack was the sense of being in last pace; during a race for that matter. Some races, especially ones of high magnitude, were incredibly hard because I did not want to finish in last. So I had to control my desires by reassuring to myself that I had the last lap to burn everyone. Ultimately, self control allowed me to hold myself back from something that I really wanted to do at a certain moment.
In life temperance is needed to be virtuous, or righteous. Without self-control we would be uncivilized animals. We would not control ourselves from committing such acts as wrath, gluttony, greed, lust, sloth, pride, and envy; the seven deadly sins. Not only did Track & Field keep me in tip top shape; it also conditioned me to live a life of righteousness. You don't have to compete in Track & Field to gain the self-control that I did. You can teach it to yourself by running in your neighborhood. Tell yourself you will run a certain amount of miles or minutes, and control yourself to stick to that goal. Manage your pain and your emotions to reach that goal. My final though I am leaving you with is: When are you going to start running?
