Sporting Lessons For The Dating Game

As daters well know, the route to a great match is more like an obstacle course than an easy jog to the finish line. As the 2016 Olympic Games approaches, it’s put us in an appropriate mind set, and we couldn’t help but ponder how our favourite sports can teach us things about love’s competitive spirit.

So let’s don those sexy shorts, arrange our headbands in a jaunty fashion, and power through the lessons your dating life can take from the sporting world…

Pace yourself

Usain Bolt is a biological miracle: who would’ve thought that a gazelle could be so darned charming? He didn’t start off being the fastest, supposed-man alive though, at least not overnight. Good training got him off to a level that allowed for appropriate heads of steam to do the rest, and a professional runner has to measure their race if they don’t want to be panting before the home stretch.

Take a page from the Book of Bolt, or any athlete really, and let your romantic relationships build gradually. You may start flagging if too much pressure’s bearing down on the two of you. Therefore, don’t force anything that doesn’t happen naturally, and never mention moving-in plans unless you’re 100% sure they won’t spill their cup of tea.

Take advice from your manager

Unless you live with your boss, we don’t mean this literally. Instead, think of your manager or coach as an older authority figure – parents, aunts, grandfathers with a wink in their eye – who can shout encouragement from the sidelines, hopefully righting the mistakes they made themselves when the dating game was little more than a set of flowers and a marriage proposal.

Who knows, you might learn something absolutely crucial to sorting the good matches from the bad. Tennis maestro Boris Becker, for instance, probably tells Novak Djokovic 10 times a day that he could actually eat Andy Murray if he tried. That’s why Djokovic always looks so hungry on centre court.

No performance enhancement

Athletes who clog their veins with steroids and other inexcusable chemicals, more often than not, are exposed for their deception. Once that happens, the damage is irreparable; remember how idolised Lance Armstrong was before his arrogant and cheating ways came to light?

Likewise, in terms of dating, you should be as natural as you can when wooing an object of desire. Ambition is a dangerous thing precisely because it warps your sense of being valued for not laying waste to any and all competitors. Take a cue from the real sporting pros, and refrain from bigging yourself up with falsehoods, adding alcohol to the mix for every meet-up, and generally crafting a veneer that isn’t like you at all. People will love you for who you are, so give them a chance to do it.

Feeling like you’ve scored points with a potential partner is intoxicating, an experience most of us strive for as best we can. The thing is, overreaching or playing a part will never do you any favours, and hopefully these tips will give you a sporting chance of love.

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