How being a casual athlete makes you a better worker
24 May 2019What’s a casual athlete? A casual athlete is a term used to identify individuals who aren’t real professional athletes, but who place sports and other physical activities in their daily routine. And they are serious about their sport and their physical condition, which justifies the term casual athlete as appropriate. Here’s why being one can actually help your work.
THE SKILLS
What you develop as a casual athlete is actually pretty close to the requirements and personality traits requested from most businesses. Making time in one’s schedule for physical activity demands time managing skills. You have to be able to evaluate the actual time it takes including travel, meal and shower time around that activity. Casual athletes also make for great team builders because they know how to work with other athletes to achieve a common goal. Whether it’s in a hockey match or in a circuit training at the gym, casual athletes surround themselves with other people and they have to find a way to make things work. They learn how to bring the teamwork to a whole other level. That’s exactly what you’re asked regularly at work.
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
It’s the casual athlete’s motto. It’s what they do on a daily basis. Pushing through hardship. And when they have reached a point where it gets easier, they ramp up the challenge. There’s never an ending goal of being a casual athlete. The finish line always hides another finish line a little farther. And those obstacles show in different shapes through the process; sickness, weather conditions, laziness and peer pressure are just a few of the things that get in the way of maintaining an active lifestyle. Casual athletes are used to fighting the desire to quit on a regular basis. So those traits of determination and obsessiveness will unavoidably show at the workplace, where obstacles always get in your way.
CONFIDENCE
It has been proven that playing sports and exercising often improves self-confidence. At the end of the day, staying fit and active means striving to be the best version of ourselves. Developing the toughness and a discipline in order to get concrete results on one’s body takes a lot of effort and the reward is a better physical and mental health. Obviously, this reflects directly on someone’s work attitude and their ability to adapt to new conditions.
A BALANCED LIFE
Someone who takes time to include sporting activities in their daily routine demonstrates a priority of keeping things balanced. Physical activity decreases stress and keeps your head in a good space. Whether you are a locum or an employee, engaging your whole body into something other than work not only changes your mind from the work itself and enhance creativity, but makes you a well-rounded professional.
Did you know that all of the Oxilia team members regularly include sports in their daily life? Here’s a rundown of what each one of the Oxilia peeps actually does in their spare time.
Victor
An outdoor beast. Long runs in the woods, kayaking and horseback riding are among his major hobbies. What gives an edge to Victor in terms of cardiovascular activity is that he a
ctually rides his bicycle to work every day. That efficient mix of incorporating sport as a part of the daily routine is something the rest of the team can all learn from, and we haven’t all caught up with that, just yet.
Charles
One hell of a gym lover. Pushing his limits is what he strives for, whether it’s in the fitness area of the community center where he trains, on the treadmill or the stationary bicycle several times a week. On top of being a boxing and basketball enthusiast, Charles did last April his first half-marathon.
François
The chameleon of sport. As long as the sweat’s not happening in the gym, François will be willing to do it. A fan of long walks and runs in the forest, he also enjoys biking, swimming, fitness (at home) and tennis. But the thing he loves the most and what makes him so intense about sports: triathlon.
Jean-Simon
is an outsider at heart. If it’s a sport that can get you in touch with the wildlife, J-S will go for it. Aside from random hikes and treks in the forest, what he gets the most thrill out of is scuba diving.
Tommy
is a team player. He plays hockey several times a week and enjoys competition. But above all else, he is probably the biggest golf addict you’ll ever meet. When we don’t see him at the office, we know it’s because he’s probably on the green somewhere, going for his double eagle. At least he brings his Bluetooth device on the court.
Jokes aside, the point here is that we are all casual athletes at Oxilia. We embrace multiple sports and cardiovascular activities in our personal lives so we can bring our best at work. Sometimes in a fast-paced workplace, it’s easy to think that the work itself counts as physical activity. A lot of runs, getting files for this and that, getting clients every quarter of an hour, etc. But the most important thing is to do physical activity outside of working hours. To have a free mind to concentrate on yourself, in a space or room dedicated to just that.
At Oxilia, sport isn’t at the center of our daily conversations, but we include all kinds of sporting activities and events in our lives on a casual/part-time basis so our work can benefit from it. That’s the meaning of being a casual athlete.
And you? Do you try to maintain an active lifestyle and do you play competitive sports? Here’s a great article on the positive impact of encouraging team sports within a workplace: https://www.talk-business.co.uk/2017/02/28/workplace-sports-can-boost-business/
And here’s another link for healthy snacks ideas you can bring to work: https://www.snacknation.com/blog/healthy-office-snacks/
