Does my sports life 🏃♀️ have an impact on my work life? 👩🏼💻
Does my sports life have an impact on my work-life balance?
…YES, it certainly has in everything I do!
Here are my top observations on how my sports life has impacted and still impacts my work life:
Time management and efficiency — I have been practicing some kind of sport for as long as I remember, I have been used to fitting one or more training sessions, job/study, sleep, and daily tasks into my 24-hour day, which made me efficient and good at managing my time at work as well. If you are good at managing your time outside work, you will be also good at managing it during your working hours.
Goal-oriented and ambitious — I love to take on a challenge, I am competitive, and I will do my utmost to reach my goals, which is also why I love to work on complex strategic projects in my daily job at Arla Foods and my coaching company. When I started dancing I was just dancing in a local school, then reached the state competition level. When I started running, I did 5 km, and one day I did a full marathon. When I started cycling I began with 20 km and then cycled more than 1200 km to Paris.
Determination and work ethic — I never skip a training session, and I never cut corners. I have been cycling through snow and rain and wind and heat. This is a habit for me because I want to try to be the best at everything I do — in sports and at work.
Mental toughness and ability to handle pressure — To stay positive and focused during 9–10 hours of cycling in 40 degrees of heat, or go through a big injury requires mental toughness (could not walk for a week after the marathon), which can be super useful also in work-related situations when deadlines approach.
Adaptability — When doing sports, I constantly have to adapt to changing conditions, because I can rarely plan every element of a competition: the weather, other participants, and my health. I constantly have to be alert and take decisions similar to working on a project at work where external factors out of my control can impact my performance.
Teamwork — Cycling with the team requires that the whole team and not only individuals perform well. Therefore, understanding and trusting my teammates as well as collaboration and coordination is a key to success. Just like being a part of a project team at work requires the same kind of collaboration.
Positivity — Being active and in good shape energizes me and puts me in a good mood where I can feel that I am generally much more open-minded both in my private life when being a girlfriend and a friend, but also in my professional life. I do not stress and in general, have a positive look at different situations and challenges.
Did I convince you to start practicing any kind of sport for your mental health, better work-life balance, and higher levels of life satisfaction?
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