Why rugby players are turning to Aristotle for inspiration

We might think of athletes as supermen, but it turns out that a lot of their

lives are beyond their control. Are they fit? Does the coach pick them? How

do the media treat them? How does the rest of the team play? When those

external factors are in their favour, they’re gods. When fortune shifts,

suddenly they’re a nobody. The transition to life after sport is

particularly hard. How will you get that high again?

What has surprised me, talking to various coaches over the past year, is how

little attention most clubs pay to the mental and emotional well-being of

players. Considering how big a factor the mind is in sport, you’d expect top

teams to invest as much in mental wellbeing as they do in physical fitness.

In fact, it’s more or less ignored.

This reflects the attitudes of wider society. If you get cancer, you can

expect all the care and sympathy in the world. If you get mental illness, no

one wants to talk about it. That’s particularly true of male culture. Men

are not good at taking care of themselves or each other, and numb their pain

with booze. As a result, suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50.

The values of professional sports teams can also be quite toxic. “It’s a

fear-driven industry, focused on short-term success,” says Neil Burns, a

mentor who’s worked with top cricketers. “Athletes often get used up and

tossed aside. Values and wellbeing don’t usually get a look in.”

Saracens are trying to do things differently. When new management arrived, in

2009, they insisted that the character, values and wellbeing of the players

were the top priority, and results would follow from that. They launched

something called the Personal Development Programme, to support all the

players in their lives and their careers after sport. They duly invited

various people in to talk to the players, including mindfulness experts, a

yoga teacher, even a philosopher (me).

The “Saracens revolution” has created a unique culture. Alex Goode, the

26-year-old Saracens and England fullback, says: “The old Saracens was not a

particularly friendly place. There’d be quite brutal banter. Now, there’s

much more of a feeling of togetherness.”

The esprit de corps has made the team stronger and better. Saracens won the

Premiership in 2011, and broke the record last season for most tries scored

and most league points won, reaching the European cup final and Premiership

play-off final, both of which they sadly lost.

The Premiership final loss was to a dubious try in the last minute of extra

time, after

a disallowed try of their own. Defeats don’t come more cruel. But, as

Brian Moore noted in his Telegraph column, the team handled it with

impressive integrity and dignity.

Other teams are following their lead. The head of the Personal Development

Programme, David Priestley, moved to Arsenal this season to develop a

programme there. In cricket, after some high-profile burnouts, the ECB is

beginning to recognise that “inner fitness is the foundation for long-term

success”, as former England coach Andy Flower puts it. In the United States,

the enlightened coach Phil “Zen Master” Jackson is putting values and wisdom

at the centre of his basketball team culture.

_{Thoughtful huddle: philososphy focuses the mind for Saracens players}

It’s interesting to consider whether this focus on wellbeing could be

transferred to other industries. Poor mental health costs the UK economy

roughly £23 billion a year through absenteeism and low morale, according to

the Centre for Mental Health. Yet, according to the Chartered Institute of

Personnel and Development (CIPD), only a third of British companies offer

any stress management or resilience training, which usually means one

half-day session a year.

That’s not enough. What impresses me at Saracens is that it’s not a

once-a-year workshop. It’s a values-driven culture, sustained every day in

every interaction (or not). Just as importantly, it’s a pluralist approach,

exploring various ways to live well rather than forcing employees down one

path. There is space for players to discuss ideas and share their own

experience. This helps create a culture of peer support, which is more

powerful than a one-off workshop.

There is not one philosophical or scientific answer to the question of how to

live well. But some philosophies have survived for two millennia because

there is wisdom in them. The challenge for organisations is to offer useful

ideas and techniques, while enabling employees to find what works for them.

And if that sounds soft and fluffy to you, go and watch Saracens this

season.

MIND GAMES:

Stoic resilience

The Stoic philosopher Epictetus taught that “it’s not events, but our opinion

about events, that causes us suffering” – an insight that inspired cognitive

behavioural therapy and modern resilience training.

Buddhist mindfulness

The Buddha said: “We are what we think. All that we are is created by our

thoughts.” We can change our relationship to our thoughts through

mindfulness meditation. Many organisations now practise mindfulness, and

there’s even a parliamentary committee devoted to it.

Humanist happiness

Epicurus taught that the meaning of life is to be happy. We can learn to be

happy, by enjoying the present moment and not striving after false desires.

Aristotelian flow

Aristotle thought happiness comes when we fulfil the drives of our nature for learning,

connectedness, freedom and meaningful work – an insight that inspired

self-determination theory in psychology.

Christian charity

The idea that companies should look after the wellbeing of its employees was

pioneered by Quaker companies such as Rowntree’s, which had the first-ever

welfare department, as well as a library, an in-house magazine, an amateur

dramatics company and a company orchestra.

Jules Evans

is the author of Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations. The

Saracens philosophy club is part of a project funded by the Arts and

Humanities Research Council.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/27707207

Why rugby players are turning to Aristotle for inspiration