Chapter 6.

Quest for Being the Best

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. -Edmund H

We All Want to Do Well

As humans we all desire to do well in life. For some it will remain mainly a desire b
will inch closer to achieving their goals.

It is not difficult to understand the reasons why people have a desire to achieve.
For all, the desire to achieve is related to recognition. Everybody wants to be
appreciate every stage of life people want to be recognized for their efforts. And
once they are recognized and appreciated, they work hard to achieve more. Film
actors wait to get film related awards, armed forces personnel are honoured with
gallantry awards, while sportspersons are awarded medals and shields for their
effort. That is why in schools students have competitions for which they get prizes
and awards.

That some achieve great success is proof of all that others can achieve it as well

Abraham Lin

The reason for people to work hard is to reach certain levels of achievement. We
know people who practise singing for days together to create records. Therefore
people work for higher every field

Activities which can kindle a spark in us

We need to put in some effort to help us get motivated Set goals Without a goal
to achieve higher goals

Set Goals: Without goal aperon is like rudderless ship. He don’t know where he is
going. Set goal and try to visualise it. At your age you set a goal to learn swimming
in six months o r to top the class in English.
Think of yourself as a winner: 'If you think you can you will is an old saying.
Therefore imagine yourself to be a winner in whatever you plan to do. This will
give you energy to work hard. Many Olympic winners have worked hard
imagining themselves on the victory stand, getting the gold medal

Be willing to go that extra mile: Be prepared to work a little extra because this
extra work will get you on to the victory stand.

Take a little risk: Unless you are prepared to stretch a little, take a little risk, you
will not be as successful as you can be. Whenever you come across an obstacle in
life, make an extra effort to achieve your goals.

Do You Know?

As a child, when John F Kennedy (who later became the 35th President of US) and
his friends, playing a barn came across a difficult obstacle which was to be
crossed, followed a simple rule. All the children used to throw their hats across
the obstacle! Once the hats were thrown in, there was no choice but to make an
all-out effort to cross the obstacle in order to retrieve those hats.

Handling anxiety: Whenever we undertake any work we are anxious whether we

will be able to finish that work or not. This is bound to happen. One trick lies in
overcoming this anxiety so that you don't get stressed. Do the following when you
are getting worried.

Take 10 to 15 deep breaths to help you relax.

Tellyourself that things will go in a positive direction and this will get you your
confidence back. Keep up with the task don't give up even if things scare you -

The way to be nothing is to do nothing.

-Nathaniel Howe
We must learn from our mistakes

We all make mistakes but people who do not progress further are the ones who
do not learn from past mistakes. Every failure teaches us something which can be
used for the next opportunity. A hockey team will never win if the players keep
making the same mistakes. Therefore, whenever you are unable to reach your
goal, make an effort, and think where and how you went wrong. Thereafter in
future, never repeat that same mistake. For instance, if you didn't do well in
exams last year because you started preparing late before your finals, then this
year you make sure you start off much in advance.

Think and Express

How can we get motivated to do better and better in life?Can others inspire us?
What is the role of teachers and parents to make you do better?

A few tips to do well in life

Make reading a habit from now onwards: Start by reading light books or
magazines that interest you. Don't be too worried about what you read as long as
you develop a habit of reading.

Make good friends: Good company always influences us positively and bad
friends affect us negatively. So make sure that you are in the company of friends
who are motivating, helpful and honest.

Watch knowledge channels: In today's information age. you get valuable

information to enhance your knowledge watching knowledge-based TV channels
which make exact programmes.

Think and Discuss

Why should we make an effort to learn from our mistakes?

What do we gain by reading?
Think and Reflect

Who do well in life think positively and those who think negative tend to lose
Remember, the difference between and performer and a great performer is often
in the mind. It is also important to enjoy what your year. Setting interest in all the
class activities and also try to enjoy doing what others do. Also set goals every
year. Setting a goal for yourself helps in many ways:

 It helps you focus your attention on what is to be done.

 It helps you to work hard even in the face of obstacle
 energizes you
 motivates to reach your goal

Let's Answer

Fill in the blanks.

1. The _____________to achieve could be stronger in some of us.

2. The desire to achieve is related to___________

3. Many Olympic winners have worked hard ________themselves on the victory

stand.

4. People do not ___________if they don't learn from their past mistakes.

5. Just as good company always influences us___________ bad friends affect us

Answer the following questions.

1. Why do some people reach higher positions in an organization?

2. Why should we be willing to take a little risk?

3. How does setting a goal help us do better in life?

4. Suggest three ways to handle anxiety.

5. Why is it important to make good friends?

1

Chapter 7
Importance of Sports and Sportsmanship

Tennis taught me to take chances, to take life as it To hit every ball that comes
to me no matter how h It looks, to give it my best shot.

-Thisuri Wannlara

Warm Up

How do we spend our spare time? Discuss in class.

We can either while away our spare time or can utilize it wisely (Just lazing
around, gossiping with friends or watching too much of TV are not productive
activities) On the other hand, listening to good music, watching informative
channels, reading, modelling clay, dancing, playing some musical instruments or
singing help us to relax and be productive.

Need for Relaxation

As students, we are loaded with studies, homework, tuitions, exams and

assignments. This can generate a lot of stress and monotony for anyone. So we do
need to de-stress and relax a little during our free time When we have a lot of
time to spare, special during holidays, we often feel listless wondering how we
can pass the time. Taking hobby could be one of the answers. It could be anything
that interests us. We could take up games and sports, specially outdoor games as
it would give us the dual benefit of being active and healthy.

Games and Sports

Gams and sports were devised and promoted by mankind to cleverly utilize time,
develop a positive spirit and also derive pleasure out of it Games fall under two
categories indoor and door games
Indoor games: Indoor games can be played inside a building and even at home.
Some of the popular indoor games are chess, carrom, table tennis, video games,
etc. These games also give us a chance to spend time with friends and even make
new friends.

Outdoor games and sports: Outdoor games can be played in field and require a
lot
of physical activity. These games are played either as individual or as team.

Individual activities are swimming, cycling, athletics, aerobics, jogging, gymnastics,

etc. Team activities require at least the, or more persons to play with or a team
such as tennis, foot badminton, golf, basketball, cricket, hockey, etc.

Importance of outdoor games

Although indoor games allow us to pass time, relax and make friends we don't get
to exercise and sweat out. Outdoor games, on the other hand, provides us an
opportunity to make friends, de-stress and improve physical fitness as well. They
have a very positive effect on us.

Advantages of sports and games

Builds teamwork: Team games or collective sports give us an opportunity to play

as a team and fight for the same goal. For example, in a hockey match all the
players cooperate to score a goal. It is a collective achievement.

Good for health: Sports is one activity where you do lot of physical realizing it.
This happens because while playing we don't realize the effort we are put sense
that it comes effortlessly.

Is relaxing: A sport or a game is always very refreshing. So during exams it is a

good something even if it is for just half an hour. We will feel charged up after
that and can be focused.

Make us socially active: When we play group sports, for instance, cricket, players
on both sides. Even if we count ourselves out, there are at least 21 more player
played in the game. If we make friends with half of them, we have earned ten
friend of the biggest advantage of sports.

Make us fighters (Sports infuse the fighting spirit in us and prepare us to face life.
It m physically and mentally tough.

Just fun: Playing football in the rain or playing cricket in the backyard can be so
much than watching a show on TV or even playing a video game.

Think and Discuss

We have a huge population, yet we do not do well at the Olympic Games. What
this poor performance be?

What can be done about it?

Is only the government to be blamed for this lapse?

Sports and developing social skills

When we play as a team it gives us an opportunity to interact with people of

different temperaments. With people coming from different backgrounds there
could be different behavioral patterns. Some may be short-tempered, some self-
centered, some arrogant and some balanced and great team players. We learn to
adjust with all. Probably no other activity can offer us such opportunities to deal
with friends with diverse habits and nature.

Think and Write

Name two movies that are based on sports,

Karate kid, Kung fu Panda, Mein Shahid Afridi Hoon Pay the drum slowly, The
Boxer, Challengers
What do you understand by "sports man spirit"? Discuss.
Think and Reflect

Sports is to live life in a positive manner. Just as life is full of ups and downs, gains
and 1 losses. If we do games have moments of victory as well as failure. It
teaches us to celebrate when victorious and also teach accept defeat with grace
and dignity. Remember, winning and losing are a part of life. This spirit of playing
fairly and taking defeat in your stride is what sportsmanship is all about.

Let's Answer

What games do/did the following celebrities play?

1. Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan
2. Adnan Siddiqui, Pakistani actor cricket
3. Ronald Reagan, former president of US football
4. George Clooney, actor baseball

Answer the following questions.

1. Mention some activities which are not productive. Why?

2. Why do we need to relax?

3. Why were sports and games devised?

4. How do sports make us mentally tough?

Interpretation of Score
You are very Inclined towards games and sports.
you as an individual need to understand that you as an individual play games to
keep yourself not only to stay fit. So you need You must make efforts to play
some games at school or with friends in the neighborhood You need to You either
spend all your time studying or is wasting time in gossip and watching TV or
playing games You should not waste your time and understand the benefits of
playing games. Make sincere efforts to play games indoors as well as outdoors.
My Personal Change Record
From this chapter I have learnt Importance of games From now on I will ensure
sportsmanship From now on I will avoid Just lazying around or gossiping. in our
lives.A personal message I will revisit in future Always show sportsmanship in
every field of life
Note to Parents
Today, most of the children do not play any outdoor games. They either spend
most of the time studying or find pleasure in playing video games, texting on
mobile phone or watching TV. All these activities are good only in moderation.
Children, for good health, stamina and overall development, must play a few
outdoor games. Sports also help children to develop a fighting spirit and learn to
deal with people of different temperaments.
It is important, therefore, for you as parents to encourage children to play
outdoor games. Swimming for instance is a very good sport and this is also
important as a life saving skill. Football, hockey, volleyball and kabbadi are various
alternatives. Provide them whatever you can afford. This will go a long way in
building a robust personality of your children.
You can't win unless you learn how to lose.
-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar