Badminton, Teaches Us Patience

By: David

When I first played badminton, I thought it was easy because we just have to hit the shuttlecock and run here and there. But actually it is not that simple. We must have good speed, stamina, and focus. Also, many times I must be patient in practice, matches, even sometimes when I lose.

Practice is really hard, I get tired, want to stop, and regret joining. Footwork from morning to afternoon, shots still not strong enough or miss. But later I started to understand, if I’m not patient, I can’t improve myself. When I finally do one shot I couldn't before. I feel so happy and very excited to practice again and again.

After all that practice, I realized matches are even harder. Sometimes I am already ahead in points but because I panic and often make mistakes my points are overtaken. Then, I knew if I calmed down and took a deep breath I could win. I have learned not only about power but also a calm mind.

Even with much training and some good moments in matches. I still lose many times. At first, it hurt me so much and I even wanted to cry. But, later I learned that losing is not the end. I can fix my mistakes, practice again, and play again. Something losing even motivates me to keep fighting to become a winner.

From all those losses, I actually learned a lot of things. Slowly I realized badminton is not about running around or getting sweaty. It makes me more patient, more disciplined, and it teaches me how to stay calm when things don't go the way I want. Everytime I hold my racket, I remember the whole process, that tiring practice, the stressful match, the win, and the loss. It feels like all of that makes me feel stronger. Now I realized that I’m not only training my body, but also my mind.