Wrestling offers a plethora of benefits for the people that decide to start doing it as a part of their pastime and gradually realize that this kind of sport offers a range of benefits, including a unique philosophy. Wrestling can cause noticeable improvements in one’s physical and emotional well-being, creating the premise for a future framework for comprehensive health management. However, at the age of seven, I could not understand the implications of wrestling and its advantages for me from the physical and psychological viewpoint. Wrestling simply seemed exciting and fun, and, like any kid at that age, I was immediately fascinated with the idea of fighting without breaking any rules. The decision to take up wrestling changed my life by introducing a unique philosophy of physical and mental discipline and prompting the development of leadership qualities and work ethic.
Wrestling came into my life rather naturally when I was seven and would not leave ever since. Shortly after my birthday, my friend who I missed much when he trained suggested that I should try it as well so that we could be together even during his wrestling classes. Although I felt hesitant at first, imagining that wrestling would take an inconceivable effort from me, I agreed afterward once my parents supported the idea. The very first wrestling class changed my perception of this kind of sport completely and helped me to gain several important insights into the wrestling philosophy, as well as relationships with others, including my community, my friends, and family members. Due to the focus on hard work as the pathway to personal development and professional success, wrestling has become the platform for building my self-esteem.
In addition, the importance of wrestling in the development of my sense of camaraderie and helped me to maintain a close connection to my family members. Due to the support that they have been providing me in my development as a wrestler, we have built a strong understanding of each other. While I have to admit that I would have probably found other ways apart from sport to discover that my family values me and is very supportive of all my endeavors, It was crucial to learn about the strength of our family ties at an age this young. Surprisingly enough, the sport that one would typically label as fighting has helped to bring my family together and allowed me to build trust-based relationships with my family members.
However, by far the greatest effect that wrestling has produced on me concerns the personal progress that I have made throughout the years of building my professional set of wrestling skills. Doing wrestling has affected the way in which I see myself, increasing my self-esteem and convincing me that I can accomplish anything that I will deem as important. For example, I have become less conscious of my body flaws, learning to correct the ones that affect my health directly and accepting the ones that do not require immediate change as my unique characteristics. Therefore, becoming a wrestler has allowed me to build a healthy approach toward self-esteem-related issues, making me immune to unhealthy attitudes that one may acquire when affected by low self-esteem.
Along with changes to the fashion in which I viewed my physical and psychological well-being, wrestling has contributed to shaping my philosophy, values, and ethics. Although wrestling is not classified as a team sport, it does encourage building similar values and ethics. Specifically, the spirit of camaraderie is essential to the development of wrestling skills. In addition, the concept of sportsmanship has permeated every area of my life. It has become critical for me to play fairly and be honest in not only wrestling but also any activity, in general. As a result, attaining the end goal has transformed from an end in itself to a tool that can be used to improve the quality of my life, my communication with family members and friends, and other aspects of my personal and professional life. Therefore, the philosophy of wrestling and its ethics have affected me on a very deep level, defining the principles on which I build my interactions with the rest of the world.
Wheel wrestling is typically viewed as an individual sport rather than teamwork-based activity, it has also taught me important lessons about leadership. A person that is timid or preferring to be guided rather than to guide others may underestimate the significance of gaining the skills of a leader. However, the ability to make decisions, collaborate, and communicate ideas effectively, which are typically attributed to a leader, are essential for one’s success in personal life, academic progress, and business career. Wrestling, in turn, has provided me with important lessons about self-control, conflict management, and communication as the pillars of leadership (Weinberg and Gould 219).
The values that wrestling teaches go beyond sport-related instructions and, instead, serve as the wisdom based on which one can build an entire life philosophy. The ideas to which wrestling has introduced me exceed the traditional concept of winning and losing; instead, they teach the concepts of success and failure as grand notions that can be applied to any other realm apart from sport. Thus, the principles on which the wrestling philosophy is constructed have provided me with the wisdom that will allow me not only to build a career in athletics but also to succeed in life in a broader sense (Weinberg and Gould 258). Helping me to distinguish between important and trivial issues, the values associated with wrestling have influenced my personal growth. Wrestling has shaped my personality, teaching me important life lessons about communication, collaboration, and continuous improvement. The insights that wrestling has given to me have affected the way in which I interact with others, making me open to changes and allowing me to become a better person with every new experience.
Although wrestling is typically viewed as solely a set of combatting skills, it has changed my entire life by teaching me the qualities such as physical and mental discipline, leadership skills, and work ethic. Learning the wrestling philosophy enables one to embrace every facet of personal success and realize what steps should be taken to achieve it. For me, wrestling is not merely a kind of sport but, instead, a lifestyle that provides a plethora of opportunities for development and health management. Moreover, due to the chances that wrestling gives regarding the self-assessment of emotional well-being, it can arguably be seen as a method of addressing the issues associated with communication, leadership skills, and other areas that require emotional health and awareness. Therefore, wrestling has been strongly integrated into every possible facet of my life, defining my choices and helping me to improve as a person.
Work Cited
Weinberg, Robert S., and Daniel S. Gould. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 6th ed., Human Kinetics, 2018.