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Mind, body and spirit

To what extent can sport help shape your personality? Read on...

The idea that sport and exercise build character has been around for ages. The `sport-builds-character' notion reached its zenith in the boarding schools of England. The idea dissipated somewhat in the 20th Century.

Sports enthusiasts claim that regular play builds integrity, fairness, work and teamwork ethics and fortitude. So how come sport is full of unfair tackles, frequent appealing, bad temper and cheating?

Sport has been claimed to help people view situations from multiple perspectives. Thinking like one's opponent and acting in harmony with other team members are the elements of a thinking sportsperson's mind.

Empathy is the by-product of this thinking. But empathy is not always there in a sportsperson's makeup.

Moral reasoning

Disturbingly, a few studies found that athletes scored less on moral reasoning than their non-playing peers. Moral reasoning is not an automatic fruit of sport: much depends on how the game is taught. Football coaches who teach ugly tackles are more likely to raise players with aggression and unfair play hardwired into them.

Sport builds motivation and a work ethic, but it doesn't automatically ensure a balance between the individual and the collective ambition. Individual sport undoubtedly drills some good traits into people. Team sport, under the right guidance and in the right environment, can build good character. But sport can just as well foster and harden bad character traits. A game cannot build a mind or a conscience.

RAJIV M

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