How Emotional Intelligence Helps Us In Sport
Emotional intelligence teaches us to enjoy sport for the mere fact of practicing it and without seeking to surpass others, but only ourselves. We tell you about its great relevance in this area.
Success and improvement in sports do not only depend on physical conditions. In reality, having a well-prepared and fit body is no guarantee of achieving a goal. There are mental and emotional factors that can influence the outcome of a competition. In this sense, emotional intelligence in sport plays a central role.
Emotional intelligence is, without a doubt, a capacity that will help us overcome the most unsuspected thresholds. An extra contribution of emotional energy at a critical moment can modify the end of a game, a race or any other competition. Learn to enhance your qualities.
What is emotional intelligence?
In 1995, the American psychologist Daniel Goleman published a book entitled Emotional Intelligence . In this work, emotional intelligence is defined for the first time as the “ability to feel, understand, control and modify one’s own feelings and those of others”.
If we apply this quality of the human being in the sports field, we can maximize performance. By understanding moods and how they influence results, we will have a broader view of the sport.
Emotional intelligence in sport
Next, we will describe five behaviors that make emotional intelligence in sport a more than necessary tool to achieve the objectives.
1. Learn to control frustration
Sport is an activity from which we can extract great learning for other aspects of life. In this sense, the management of frustration is a characteristic that we must develop and control.
This means overcoming the despondency after a defeat, an injury at the least opportune moment or a goal that you resist. Any sporting frustration will be an enriching experience.
We must face and understand sporting failure as a challenge, manage not to be dejected or disappointed. Mental strength and the ability to excel are the key to success in this fight.
Feelings of anger, violence, revenge or resentment do not add sporting or healthy values in life. So, try not to feed negative feelings and express your emotions with sportsmanship. According to a study published by the Australian Psychologist , positive emotions are linked to greater concentration and better performance.
2. Increase motivation
On the path of personal or collective progress, motivation is necessary. Having a goal helps to stay alert, to strive for a goal. Positive emotions in the effort to achieve a goal invite us to improve, to improve as people.
In sports, it is advisable to write down and keep a small file of our progress and establish comparisons. For example, George Doran’s SMART method is based on setting measurable, achievable, specific, relevant, and time-defined goals.
Having a schematic image of the ups and downs puts us in reality and makes us aware of the situation. The athlete must know his marks and always have an attitude of sacrifice. In this way, the pain threshold that is able to resist physical and mental fatigue is increased.
3. Maintain perseverance
Emotional intelligence is also necessary in sport when it comes to being consistent. Perseverance gives us a character of tenacity for any activity in life.
To be persistent, we must develop patience, since achievements are usually gradual. Everything is achieved if there is a firm purpose. According to a study published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , this is a quality that is closely linked to achieving goals.
We must not sink. Although the wind blows against and the circumstances become adverse, it is necessary to fight until beyond the limit of our forces. Thanks to sport, values such as the spirit of sacrifice are acquired. There are very few sensations more pleasant than that of accomplishing a difficult goal.
4. Know how to lose
Another great challenge is accepting defeat. Understand that the purpose of sport is not the goal, but the sport itself. It is not about the arrival, but the path itself.
Knowing how to lose, after so much effort, also makes us more tolerant, more humble. With a dose of defeat conceits, self-importance and vanity fall.
The world of sport is full of people who will never go down in history; They will not get a medal, but they will still be happy for having tried. In fact, self- improvement may be the best reward. Emotional intelligence in sport is, therefore, a driver of improvement and helps us to get up.
5. Do not forget empathy and sportsmanship
Empathy makes us better people. As detailed in a research published by the International Journal of Caring Sciences that explains its relationship with emotional intelligence, this is a human value that invites us to put ourselves in the shoes of the other and better understand their situation.
In this way, we learn to control this type of positive emotions and we value more the teamwork of a sport, in addition to better understanding the moods of the other participants. To understand the relevance of this point, we must consider that some athletes have become more famous for their character and leadership than for their results.
Emotional intelligence in sport and in life itself
Human values do not go out of style. For this reason, it is convenient to develop emotional intelligence in sport and in life.
All the behaviors described above lead to the growth of a person, and also allow him to enjoy all his activities from another perspective. Without a doubt, this is a path worth exploring.
