Individual sports have always held a special place in the hearts of many athletes. This is because individual sports offer a range of benefits that are simply not available in team sports.
I – For one, individual sports allow athletes to focus entirely on their own performance without worrying about the actions of their teammates.
This means that individual athletes are solely responsible for their success or failure, and they cannot blame anyone else for their shortcomings. This is a lesson that people who engage in team sports miss out on.
When an individual athlete underperforms, he has no choice but to complete some self-analysis. He has to look at himself and examine his strengths and weaknesses to determine where he came up short.
The team athlete does not have to do this because the strengths of the other members will compensate for him.
If he does not want to, he does not have to improve. Therefore he becomes myopically focused only on his sole contribution to the team and never rounds out other areas of his skill set. He becomes one-dimensional in sports performance.
This plays out later in their life. You have likely known several people who love to talk about the “good ole days” when they played football or some other sport. Maybe they were excellent at their sport, yet they are failing in life. Because there are critical life lessons learned while working alone that cannot be learned while working with a team.
It is sad when these people have to look in the review mirror to find success or glory. But this is the case for many team sport-oriented athletes
Working alone improves you. It improves your ability to work on a team. But working on a team does not make you more effective at working alone.
Team sports often rely on the performance of the collective group. If one person on the team is not performing well, it can have a domino effect and affect the entire team’s performance. This dependence on others leads to frustration, disappointment, and a sense of helplessness when things don’t go as planned.
Additionally, team sports often have a hierarchy where certain players are valued more than others, creating a sense of favoritism and animosity among teammates.
II – Individual sports offer a level playing field, where all athletes are judged solely on their own merit.
There are no team politics or favoritism, and athletes must rely entirely on their own skills, dedication, and hard work to succeed. This sense of fairness creates a more level-headed and mentally tough athlete, as they know they cannot rely on anyone else to pick up their slack.
III – Another significant advantage of individual sports is the opportunity to be self-sufficient.
Athletes in individual sports often have to manage their own training, nutrition, and equipment, which can foster independence and self-reliance. This self-sufficiency is a valuable trait in both personal and professional life, as it teaches people to take responsibility for their actions and to be self-motivated.
While team sports have their advantages, individual sports offer unique benefits that cannot be overlooked. The accountability, fairness, and self-sufficiency fostered by individual sports are valuable traits that can benefit athletes in all aspects of life.
Success in individual sports is not simply a matter of physical skill but also requires mental toughness, discipline, and a willingness to take responsibility for one’s own actions.
These are all qualities that can be developed and applied to personal development, masculinity, and Christianity.
In Christianity, there is dualistic teaching about teamwork – you need to be able to work on a team, but you also need to be able to work well alone.
We lean on one another, but we should not be dependent on one another for spiritual strength. Every Christian must have the strength to stand alone the vast majority of the time. This is key because the enemy will rarely attack us when we are strong. He will rarely assault us when we are together.
The enemy waits until we are isolated from others. He waits until we are weak and lonely and then attacks.
It is because of this that we must be strong not only when we are with other Christians, but when we are alone.
If we cannot resist temptation alone, we will be defeated simply because we cannot constantly be surrounded by people who share our faith.
In life, you can only trust yourself.
People are going to fail you. They are going to let you down every time you turn around. You cannot put hope, faith, or trust in other human beings. At least not that the expense of faith in yourself.
Rely on God first, your own strength second, and rely on people last.
Every great leader throughout history has known that the people are the sand of the seashore. you should not attempt to construct any lasting structure on the foundation of people.
The self-reliance you learn in individual sports teaches you a lesson about relying on yourself in life and faith.
Note that the Bible’s examples of sport also revolve around individual events: races and boxing.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may [i]obtain it.25 And everyone who competes for the prize[j]is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
When the Apostle Paul makes sporting analogies, he uses sports that rely on individual, not a team effort.
Paul experienced first-hand the disappointment that comes from relying on others when he was abandoned by John Mark.
37 Now Barnabas [m]was determined to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. 39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being [n]commended by the brethren to the grace of God.
Acts 15:37-40
Determined not to be burned a second time, Paul refuses to take John Mark on the journey and eventually splits with his traveling partner.
Paul understood a simple lesson: when people give you a reason to not rely on them, then don’t rely on them. Do not suffer because you placed yourself in a position of dependence on others.
Dependence on any other than God is a weakness. It is reserved for times of physical or spiritual turmoil and difficulty, but it should not be our default state. We should avoid naturally falling into a state of trust and dependence on others.
The moment you place too much trust in those you believe to be your allies, you will fall. And you will wonder how you forget the simple lesson of self-reliance and individual strength.
This is not pride, it is simply realism and rationality.
People will accuse you of being prideful, but they are speaking out of emotionalism that they mistake for morality. they have no evidence for this. When people cannot safely be relied upon, then you would be a fool to rely on them. Trust yourself.
