It may seem non-vital, or something like a hobby, only for people who have spare time to waste, but the truth is that sports actually have a deeper psychological function. A function that goes beyond exercise and maintaining a healthy body. It has the function of maintaining a healthy psychological balance, by providing the necessary tension needed.
Yes, I do really imply that sports can be something like an exorcist for all sorts of psychological activities.
How many times have we heard the expression “I go play to blow off steam”?
To relax, to point my energy somewhere. But somewhere within a set of rules, somewhere everybody who is playing, accept the limitations of what can and cannot be done, a field of play like when we were kids.
Then comes the very important issue of tension. In order for man to grow, evolve and not stagnate in his place mentally and physically, he needs a certain amount of tension in life.
So let’s follow the 4 step cycle of why sports provides a great solution for that issue.
1)Man needs tension
As with everything, illness lives in the ends; too much and not at all.
Too much tension leads to stress and all related problems. Too little or not at all, leads to neurosis.
We need to find the balance.
Man needs a healthy amount of tension in life so he can move, overcome problems, find solutions and put his skills to work.
It is a requirement built into him.
2)Man is in search of tension.
That is why man is looking for sources of achievement. Again. this step too must be taken with balance in mind, because too much search can lead to all kinds of addictions(adrenaline,drug,alcohol abuse etc). Man needs to assure himself he is capable of dealing with a certain amount of challenges.
He looks for achievements that will give some meaning to his existence, no matter how big or small.
3)There aren’t enough such situations
I really mean we haven’t got enough “healthy” such situations.
Sure we have a lot of tension producing institutions all around us, with our whole way of life providing us with stress and an irregular way of achieving success and recognition.
We have many means for life(more than we can consume) but no goal to strive for that can fulfill our inner needs.
So, it lies upon man to try and create it by himself. What better way to do it than in a regulated, healthy , organized context of sports?
4)He creates and provokes such situations.
Man puts demands on himself and creates the tension he needs and is able to deal with.
With the sea of abundance all around him, he needs to have islands that take care of his soul, provide him with a clear path to achievement with certain rules. We could say it is a form of asceticism in this modern world, much needed though for inner balance.
So we see that the role of sports is much deeper than it is seen at first glance, going beyond the mere socio-economic boundaries and expanding into deep human psychology.
It is a thing to be lived and experienced.
This cycle explains why sport actually is so important to society and why since ancient civilizations it has played such an important role.
Sports is our exorcist!
