Growing up I spent a lot of time in my driveway shooting baskets. I've always loved basketball and found it easy to spend a lot of time practicing my free throws or whatever else. However, my mother knew that other skills in my life would be more beneficial then just being able to put a ball through a hoop. For instance, she encouraged me from a young age to learn to play the piano. I didn't always find as much joy sitting on that hard piano bench as I did playing out in the front yard. In fact, there were times when my mother was probably very disappointed in my lack of dedication. I remember her saying something to the effect of, "If you would spend half as much time practicing the piano as you do playing basketball just imagine how good you could be."
Looking back, I wish I had listened to my mother on that subject as well as others. Sports are fun and we can learn a lot about life and about ourselves from them. But as time goes on, they seem to matter less and less in the eternal scheme of things. What is important is that we live the kind of life that God wants us to. We should keep His commandments and do the things that He has asked us to. In this, lies true happiness.
During my high school days I ran on the cross country team. I was definitely not the fastest runner on the team but I had fun and was able to work hard and improve my race times. Many runners would write things on their arms with a marker or a pen to remind them of something during the race. One such phrase I often saw on our team was "No Regrets."
We've all heard it said that when you cheat on a test or something, you are only cheating yourself. I agree whole-heartedly with that statement. I mean, think about it. When you go to football, or basketball, or dance practice (whatever it may be) you go to get better at that particular activity. If you don't work hard, you aren't going to improve. It's a simple enough concept.
