Article May 28, 2018 Issue

Triumph over self-will in sports

Nikki Paulk

Through my study of Christian Science, both my performance and my attitude when participating in sports have changed. I fence and play tennis—both very competitive sports that I love. When I started fencing, I was often challenged with the thought of just wanting to win. Impatience and self-will became my enemies, and I would measure my talent by how many victories I had on the fencing strip—which left me feeling frustrated at times, when that number was low!

My coach encouraged me to be more patient. As I enjoy speed and action, the idea of being patient in any sport didn’t resonate with me. But this attitude didn’t get me anywhere, and I realized I had to rethink my whole game strategy. As a Christian Scientist, I asked myself how well I was demonstrating what I was learning from my study of the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy’s writings. I knew that calling oneself a Christian Scientist isn’t enough; it is living the truth and bringing a Christly approach to every aspect of our lives, including sports, that proves we really are what we say we are: wholly spiritual identities created in God’s image and likeness.

My new strategy became spiritual discipline. I put self-will aside and focused on expressing humility, gratitude, and—last, but not least—patience! I affirmed that I move in the allness of Spirit, God, and that as the expression of divine Mind, I can see what I need to see and react when I need to. Knowing what God is has helped me tremendously in understanding what constitutes my true identity and in realizing what I reflect as His likeness.

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