Good Sportsmanship: 6 Things Real Winners Have in Common | Slism
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Good Sportsmanship: 6 Things Real Winners Have in Common

Be a positive person and your relationships will flourish. Being negative will only frustrate you and others and you are setting a poor example for young people that look up to you. Good sportsmanship is taught from a young age, but it's not too late to take some pointers.

How to show good sportsmanship

Learning good sportsmanship is not automatic, but it's worth the effort if you put one hundred percent into it. Since winning and coming out on top is overvalued in modern society, those who take winning less seriously and making friendships more easily are outside the norm. Because of this, people will be magnetically attracted to you as someone who is different and wise.

Girl in a sports outfit.

Good sportsmanship

1. Don't be a sore loser

2. Congratulate your opponent

3. No excuses

4. Be a role model

5. Be respectful

6. Follow the rules

First Lesson in Life: Don't Be a Sore Loser. Practice Good Sportsmanship and Be Gracious in Victory and Defeat. If You Respect Your Opponents, You Will Go Far in Life

In a society where winning is everything, learn to accept losing as a part of life and keep that smile on your face regardless of the circumstances. You will be loved by your followers and respected by your competition.

1. People with good sportsmanship don't hold grudges

People with the right attitude are too busy making new friends to care about negative encounters in the past. Look to improve yourself by having good sportsmanship. Every time you see someone, wipe a clean slate and pretend as if you two have no past. This way, you won't be rude to people who you don't like and you won't be too infatuated with people who you do like. You will be treating everyone with respect. Furthermore, you won't be worrying about the negatives and you won't let anyone make an impact to your mood.

woman in shadows
Let go of your negative feelings

Who has time to hold grudges these days? Life is so short. You may feel anger for some brief moments but then when you wake up the next day the feelings aren't as strong. Our feelings come and go, and aren't worth holding onto. It's just wasted time that we could be spending for more important things. That anger will have negative effects on your health and make you a bitter person that nobody wants to be around. It's so beneficial to be able to let go your over-competitiveness and just admit that all battles cannot be won. What you should do is use your loss to motivate yourself for future success. People who practice this best sportsmanship win more often than those who hold onto negative feelings from the past.

2. Know how to praise both sides

When you learn to see the positives in people, you don't question them after they have made mistakes. You understand that nobody is perfect and you sympathize with others who have come up short.

It's more fun when you play nice

In the end, you just have to do your best and if it doesn't work out your way then still have the grace to congratulate the others. Teaching sportsmanship is about being humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Civilized people who were raised properly generally have no problem with exhibiting great sportsmanship. But that doesn't mean that any ordinary person cannot become a good sport. All you need are the basic principles that make up a good person and learn how to respect people.

Being a Gracious Winner

If you outdid somebody in something, gloating about your accomplishments only exposes your weakness of character. Instead, work on downplaying your own accomplishments and give others the consolation of knowing that their effort was superb. Learn not to judge others by their skill, but by their attitude and level of effort. Use this philosophy to judge yourself as a good person, as well.

Most Important Part of Good Sportsmanship

Contrarily, you should also congratulate others who have succeeded in areas you have not. You "tip your hat", so to speak. Ask them for advice afterward to follow in their footsteps. Instead of getting angry, try to find ways to improve yourself by learning from others.

3. Don't make excuses

Good sportsmanship means never complaining and stop blaming others for your failures. The greatest minds of our times and past generations were never caught making excuses during the hardships in the beginning. That's how they were able to persevere and accomplish great things. Excuses and complaints waste a lot of crucial time and energy that could be used for more important activities. It's easy for people with bad sportsmanship to complain and difficult for them to keep their mouth shut.

Moving forward

Instead of excuses as to why you didn't perform your best, congratulate yourself for the things you did well and the things you need to perform on. Ruminating on things out of your control will do nothing for you in the future. It's about forgiving yourself and forgetting the past as quickly as it happened. It's not a healthy mindset to beat yourself up; or even worse, others. Making excuses and placing blame on others is the best way to keep yourself stuck in a mediocre life. Nobody will want to help you, and you will lose motivation for yourself. Learn to take accountability for your actions, and you will then be able to improve yourself.

Silence is Golden

When you don't have anything good to say about yourself or others, you should remain silent. People with high self-esteem regard themselves highly. People with good sportsmanship regard both themselves and others highly. They don't have any need to boast about their accomplishments because they lead by example.

4. Importance of being a role model

Those who are conscious of their own behaviors are better suited to raise a family and advance high on the social ladder. Since they are aware that every action and reaction has consequences, they are sure to make the best decisions possible. It might not be the right decision, but with faith in good sportsmanship they are not afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. Part of being a good role model means you must learn to calm down and enjoy the process.

Attitude > winning

There is something to be said about someone who displays the characteristics of a quality person who is never offended. It's okay to be competitive during the competition, but not afterward. A good sportsman recognizes this attitude as the real ‘winning' attitude and not really winning. Life is about how you act as a person. They say that winning is all that matters, and that everyone loves a winner. But that's not true. You aren't truly winning with a poor attitude. Even the most competitive people understand that without playing down their accomplishments, they will be resented and estranged by society.

Poor Sportsmanship

People with poor sportsmanship always manage to let their emotions get the best of them. They are unable to control their anger and are frequently aggressive in situations that don't call for it.

People Who Set a Bad Example

Unfortunately for the next generation of children, the role-models are famous superstars making big bucks who don't understand their impact on our youth. They let their emotions guide their behavior, instead of the other way around. Whining, excuses, and even violence by professional athletes are perpetuated by the media and are easily accessible to children.

5. Don't take yourself too seriously

It's okay to be competitive sometimes but not when you risk your reputation. Think back to times when you made a mistake and people rubbed it in your face. You should never make other people feel that way, regardless of how people treated you in the past. If you don't take yourself too seriously, others will learn to do the same. Brush off the negative people and turn that frown upside down.

Why so serious?

People who take themselves too seriously are often so wrapped up in how people perceive them that they never realize that those who can joke about themselves have the most fun. If you are so wrapped up in your ego, you never truly see the lighter side of life. Serious people are a drag to be around and kill the buzz in the room.

Don't Take Life too Seriously

Life is just a game. We should all be in it to have a good time, not to win. Instead of finding ways to one-up each other, people should be finding ways to help each other. That's how the human civilization has advanced so quickly in such a short period of time. Teamwork makes dreams work.

Treat Others with Respect

Good sportsmanship is becoming rapidly a popular trend. Courtesy and being respectful of others is starting to be the "in" thing rather than winning at all costs. So start working on your positive attitude today to improve your future. With this mindset you will win in every aspect of life.

6. Respect the rules

Taking shortcuts will get you nowhere.
Don't resort to cheating under any circumstance. Understand the rules and play fair. A civilized society adheres to regulations in order for everyone to have a good time.

Good sportsmanship in relationships

couple arguing

In relationships, sportsmanship means knowing when you are fighting a losing and letting it go instead. Starting and ending your relationships with class will make him miss you and want you back.

Bottom line on good sportsmanship

To sum up everything, the key points to being a good sport are: - Be gracious in victory or defeat - Remember to be courteous - Set a good example for younger folk - Effort is more respectable and memorable than skill. always give it your all - Remember that life is a game, so have fun!