Bring your #wholeself to work: superpowers of athletes

Welcome to our series on bringing your #wholehuman to work. Stay tuned for parts 2, 3 and 4 coming up. Here’s a little background on WHY this matters:

We recently published a series called Nurture your working life – where we invited you to consider your working life as a group of plants. Two of the concepts that came up really inspired us. (1) that you get to choose which plants you include (let’s be honest: some work you get paid for, some work you don’t; around here, we keep a broad definition of “work”); and (2) the idea that when we water our plants, we are inviting the nutrients from the earth to move throughout the plant – in other words, we are integrating. This next series is a further exploration of integration, bringing more of your unique skills and experiences to work.

Part 1: Superpowers of athletes

We’re broad definition people here 🙂 If you know your peloton stats, you’re in. If you play recreational sports, you’re in. If you do pilates once a week with a youtube video in your pyjamas, you, my friend, are in.

If you were an athlete in the past, you’re in. If you’re one in the making, you’re in. If you’ve ever focused on your performance in a sport of physical activity, with a desire to improve the way you show up in that sport or activity, then you. are. in.

So, what does being an athlete mean? I encourage you to explore that question, for YOU. I encourage you to consider how your athletic life has shaped who you are in general, and who you are at work specifically. I’m certain you will find aspects of yourself that have been enhanced – or literally appeared – as a direct result of your athletic life.

BUT, if you need inspiration, I’m going to share mine. My athletic life has been far from epic, but I have practiced yoga daily for a good chunk of my life. And equally useful, I have folks in my close circle who I consider athletes in a more traditional sense (competing regionally, nationally, internationally in their sports). So here are three areas where athletes can truly shine at work – and where those athlete superpowers can serve you well:

Athletes have discipline

Let’s start with the most obvious: athletes train, consistently.

They understand that practice makes perfect.

They make training plans AND they follow through.

After a rough game or race, they’re willing to keep going.

Discipline is a superpower. If you have it, and you’re applying it to your athletic life, how can you incorporate it more at work?

Athletes desire to win

Great athletes are obsessed with winning. Otherwise they wouldn’t be great athletes. Winning is a powerful motivator.

If your sport is pilates, thing about your desire to get better at something that’s been challenging. Wouldn’t mastering that be winning?

Yes it would. Winning is mastery and also energy. It’s excitement and risk. Each time you swing, you’ve got a chance to win.

Desire to win is a superpower. It can make a big difference. It can be YOU winning or it can be your TEAM winning, or it can be your ORGANIZATION winning. Whatever resonates, board that train. How can you transpose your desire to win into your work?

Athletes move as a team

Yes, some sports are played alone, but even those often come with community. Consider the other cyclists you pass on your morning ride; the other runners and yogis. What about the coaches?

Moving as a team is a superpower, and athletes understand this. Chances are, your workplace could improve in this area (most can!). You can help. How can you share your team skills through work?

What will you do?

This is not about learning new skills, it’s about integrating the skills you already have. It’s about expanding how you show up at work, and integrating your unique talents into more aspects of your life.

So, what can you do just a little bit differently to bring your whole “athlete” self to work? Comment below or DM me over here 

I’m cheering you on.

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