On average, 8.6 million Americans get injured playing sports annually.

Sports injuries often leave athletes demotivated and distressed. Injuries majorly affect mental composure and physical well-being. A long-term injury can often leave athletes miles behind their game, strength, and speed.

Recently, I suffered from a ligament injury on my ankle while playing football. It took me a month to recover and half a month more to start playing and working out again. The next time I played was horrific and mentally disturbing. My game had worsened by a bigger margin than I had previously expected. My legs were much weaker and I continuously struggled to match my previous speed and stamina. I was being overpowered by strikers and forwards who exploited my new-found weaknesses. I was physically struggling, but the grueling experience had left me weak mentally.

When I got back from sports and took my shirt off, I had a bigger shock. My body was not in a great state. I had lost weight, muscle mass due to the month I spent on a desk instead of at the gym because of my ankle. My shoulders formed a slight curve and were hunching forward. This landed a huge blow on my confidence. I was ashamed to take my shirt off to go for a swim, I was afraid to hold the ball during football practice in fear of messing up. I just wasted my time reminiscing about my physique rather than actually doing anything about it.

This loss of faith and confidence was the single most factor that was preventing me from meeting my goals. However, this changed when I got to know about Petr Čech, a professional footballer for the Czech Republic, who was involved in a nasty collision which left him with a depressed skull fracture, a life-threatening injury. But in spite of all odds, through sheer determination and hard work, Čech came back from the injury. He continues playing and has four Premier League titles to his name.

After reading about this incident, I felt extremely stupid for being bogged down by such an insignificant injury. In five days, I was up and lifting weights again. I started individual football and cross-country training with a major confidence boost. After wasting two months, I was finally showing signs of improvement in my game. I started working hard in the gym to regain my fitness levels.

Its been two months to the injury and I am continuing my improvement. It gets grueling and frustrating at times but Čech has influenced me to rise above silly expectations and to look at the bigger picture because two years down the line this ligament injury would be nothing but a slight inconvenience.

This experience has taught me that an individual's mental well being is as important as his physical well being. It is important to not let the fear of inferiority bog down the confidence that flows within me. It is important to not give up due to the minor bumps on the road to heaven. Confidence and determination are the most important driving factor in humans, they never let anyone down.

"It's imperative to challenge yourself to see a better yourself."