The Power of Mudita

The Power of Mudita

For many people today, what brings them pleasure is their joy. Face it, we live in a very selfish society. It's a get yours before someone else gets it mindset. But you can get lost and left behind with this mindset.

 Let me set the scene for you. You are going for a walk and decide to go to a park.. You find a bench to sit at to just take in all of the scenery. You look to your left and you notice a little girl struggling to decide to go down a slide. You see her mom telling her, "You got this sweetie!" You then notice the little girl take a deep breath, and then go down the slide. When the little girl came down the slide you see the excitement all over her. Not only is the excitement on her face, but it is also on her mom's face. This feeling the mom had on her face was mudita. 

Mudita is a feeling that many young folk overlook or simply do not believe in. But look no further than into a classroom, a field, a gymnasium, or in a house and you will find mudita.Odds are you had someone in your life that felt joy in your happiness and success. We all will feel this emotion one day as parents or in our future professions. For some of you reading this, you have felt this before. And there is nothing like this feeling. Mudita is a feeling of love. 

For many of you reading this, you have felt this before in athletics. I bet you have felt excited or proud of a fellow teammate mastering a skill that he or she had been working on and finally master. When this feeling comes over you, it can be seen by others. On top of this, it spreads throughout your team. Nothing is as amazing to a coach as seeing your team be selfless and cheer on each other. It makes you feel that you are never out of a game.

The differences between a successful program and a not so successful program is mudita. A successful program is selfless, encouraging, close to each other, and loves each other. A not so successful program is the exact opposite. Mudita is successful with wins on the field, but more importantly, a mudita mindset allows success off of the field or gym. If you have a group of guys or gals who care about each other genuinely, then they will cheer on their fellow teammates in the classroom and help them. They will want them to be successful and be just as successful as they are. A good teammate, classmate, friend, and family member feels mudita for others. More importantly, great teams feel mudita all across the board, from top to bottom of the roster. 

I challenge you to look back and understand the twinkle you saw in loved ones eyes when they saw you succeed or be happy. That is mudita. I challenge you to have that feeling for the loved ones in your life. This world would be a better place if we all had this feeling of mudita in our lives. So there is only one way to make it happen, and it is on us to make it happen. Feel the energy and passion of mudita!