'Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised.'

'I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.'

- Baseball legend Babe Ruth (1895-1948)

'Adversity, if you allow it to, will fortify you and make you the best you can be.'

-American beach volleyball star Kerri Walsh Jennings (1978-present)

'Reputation is what others think about you. What’s far more important is character, because that is what you think about yourself.'

- Tennis champion Billie Jean King (1943-present)

A Quote by Sandra Day O'Connor

"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time."

'Without goals, training has no direction.'

- Twelve-time Olympic swimming medalist Natalie Coughlin (1982-present)

'Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun an important item on their daily agenda. For me, that was always a high priority in whatever I was doing.'

-Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier (1923-2020)

'I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.'

- Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)

'This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun.'

- Chef Julia Child (1912-2004)

Senda Berenson Abbott revolutionized women's basketball

In the late 1800s, college physical education programs were used to prepare post-Victorian Era women for the workforce. In 1890, Smith College built one of the country's largest and most well-equipped gyms and hired Senda Berenson to run its activities, which she did by revising basketball's rules so women could play while still meeting societal expectations.

'Follow your enthusiasm. It's something I've always believed in. Find those parts of your life you enjoy the most. Do what you enjoy doing.'

- "Muppets" creator Jim Henson (1936-1990)

'You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.'

- Hollywood legend Bette Davis (1908 - 1989)

'The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.'

- Roger Bannister (1929-2018)

Is life all about pleasure? Debating the Experience Machine

If you could plug into an Experience Machine that gave you total pleasure all the time, would you do it? Philosopher Robert Nozick thinks you wouldn't, using this as evidence against hedonism, the view that life is all about pleasure. Explore the nuances of the argument and counterarguments with this accessible article.

Martha Graham on preparation and discipline

This clip from the 1957 documentary "A Dancer's World" features the dancer explaining why she's committed all of her energy to her art. "Spontaneity … is something arrived at over years and years of training," she says, "it is not a mere chance."

Athletes are captured in moments of victory and defeat in 6 powerful sports images

See shots like Muhammad Ali knocking out Sonny Liston in 1965, or Brandi Chastain after winning the World Cup final in 1999.

Some athletes warm up with equipment from other sports

Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani uses a cricket bat; his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws a javelin. Quarterback CJ Stroud shoots free throws. The reasons are partially physical (it's good to exercise different parts of your body) and partially mental (it's nice to take the pressure off with someone else's game).

'A lion never roars after a kill.'

-Coaching legend Dean Smith (1931-2015)

Improve your typing speed by retyping classic literature

Why practice with nonsense letters and syllables when you can retype full books you always wanted to read, from Jane Austen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to George Orwell and W.E.B. duBois. And it's free.

Two 100-year-old sisters share their tips for staying mentally sharp

Shirley Hodes, 106, and her sister Ruth Sweedler, 103, don’t routinely do crossword puzzles, but both have stayed sharp as they aged. Though they live states apart, they share similar advice for maintaining mental acuity. They sum up their strategies for cognitive health with four verbs: work, connect, learn, and appreciate. Read this article to learn more about their approach to staying 100-plus years young.

BKS Iyengar emphasized yoga's physical aspect

The guru’s 1966 book “Light On Yoga” included detailed instructions for over 200 postures, presenting a version of yoga that emphasized it as a form of exercise with controlled breathing, believing that its physicality was the key to unlocking its spirituality. The book was the first mass-market manual to show the poses, furthering the Western impression that yoga was primarily about exercise.

Running became more popular in the mid-20th century

Once considered a fringe activity, running eventually became an American interest. The trend was spurred in part by the 1966 book "Jogging," which was cowritten by Bill Bowerman, the cofounder of Nike.

Simone de Beauvoir was a serious hiker

The existentialist icon began hiking as a young school teacher in Marseilles. Eventually, she would plan out long trips that covered up to 18 miles and took her around 12 hours to complete. She would later write that the hikes saved her “from boredom, regret, and several sorts of depression.”

Olympians view sleep as a performance tool, prioritizing routine and environment

Elite athletes emphasize consistent sleep routines, dark and cool environments, the well-placed nap, and tools like eye masks, white noise machines, and supplements like melatonin (particularly for jet lag). This priority belies a core principle: recovery and performance are inseparable. Read more ways Olympians "sleepmaxx" here.

Ray Dalio credits much of his success to his transcendental meditation practice

Dalio took up transcendental meditation after learning that The Beatles practiced it on a trip to India in 1968. He says the practice allows him to clear his mind, be more creative, and unlock his subconscious.

The origin of the sport's name is disputed

How pickleball got its name has been a point of contention for decades. The McCallums claim the family dog, Pickles, used to snatch the balls as they played and named it for him. Joan Pritchard, though, says Pickles didn’t join the family until after the game was invented.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.