Compassion has not been a traditional characteristic of sport. With its UK roots in 19th-century British public schools and universities, modern sport developed as way of creating strong military leaders, training them to develop adaptability defined in those times by iron will and biting the bullet. Fear and harsh criticism were crucial to toughening up players and soldiers alike. The “tough guy” narrative was strengthened by 20th-century media stereotypes and Hollywood’s heroes and became rooted into sport and society.

I’ve heard countless stories like the popular culture I found when I joined the Olympic rowing team in the mid-1990s. We were expected to suffer after mistakes or losses to show that we truly cared, and everyone believed coaches needed to be severe and unforgiving to get results. These approaches still exist. But an alternative approach with compassion at its center addresses aims of performance and wellbeing for those with greater ambitions.

This isn’t some soft option which plays down hard work, as supporters of the earlier traditional sporting mindset might criticize. Research across branches of psychology — behavioral, sports, positive — shows how compassion creates the strongest foundation for adaptability and sustained performance under pressure whether in sport, the military, healthcare or business. Rather than activating our threat system which began to help us survive way back, compassion helps us to feel safe and protected, leaving us free to learn, connect with others and start exploring what we’re capable of.

The continuous need to improve performance has led top coaches to appreciate that high performance requires levels of support to match the level of challenge. When you provide that, players start thriving while striving to achieve more. Rooted in compassion, a different coach-athlete relationship thus develops.

The dictionary definition of compassion includes the recognition of another’s suffering and the desire and support to relieve it. Compassion has been shown to decrease fear of failure and increase the likelihood of trying again when failure does happen. But how many talented athletes experience that depth of support in moments of crisis and failure?

Retirement Age

Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. The "standard" retirement age varies from country to country, but it is generally between 50 and 70, according to the latest statistics, 2011. However, for a long time, people have got into an argument about whether the age of retirement should be increased or reduced in their own countries.

There are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able. Many people think that older employees have a large amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire. Besides, older employees are often extremely faithful employees and are more willing to implement company policies than the young. A more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people. To force someone to resign or retire at 60 or 65 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that effectively their useful life is over.

Allowing old people to work indefinitely(无限期地), however, is not always a good policy. Some people took the strong view that age alone is no guarantee of ability. Many young employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area for most of their working lives. Having compulsory retirement allows new ideas in an organization. On the other hand, older people should be rewarded by society for their life's labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy leisure. They can have time to do whatever they like, that is, they can have their own plans or roles and achieve their retirement goals.

With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers. However, this can affect the older individual's freedom—and right—to work. In my opinion, giving workers more choices over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual.

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The first time I heard about my classmates engaging with social media was in the fourth grade. A lot of my friends and classmates had excitedly jumped onto platforms like Instagram at such a young age. On the other hand, I hesitated. I only knew the basics, but was foreign to some words on social media.

All throughout middle school, I stuck with the same thinking. And now, as a freshman in college, I am looking back and wondering why I, unlike my classmates, have never been naturally interested in social media.

Scanning Instagram, you ought to find dozens of pictures of people in beautiful countries, taking part in exciting activities, and spending time with friends and family, among many other things. The thought of doing this has never related to me. I respect and understand those who do believe using social media allows them to express themselves and share aspects of their lives with others. However, I have never had any interest in doing the same. In my eyes, when not shared with others, family gatherings and friend get-togethers are just as meaningful, if not more so.

Most people have experienced feeling insecure (不安全) and unconfident on social media. Images that are changed represent unrealistic beauty standards that can only be obtained through dangerous ways. Even without using social media, I knew that using apps like Instagram and Facebook would make me embarrassed about all the aspects that make me a unique individual. I’ve never wanted to look at a post on social media and immediately compare myself and my life.

I constantly observe my classmates getting easily distracted (使分心) by social media.While trying to complete their homework, they have a powerful urge to open up Instagram or Facebook to see if there are any new messages. With homework and after-class activities consuming the majority of my day, I cannot wait to finish every task on my to-do list, so I can finally spend time with my family or have some time for myself to relax from my busy day.