10 reasons why exercise makes you better at your job
Sports have always been a big part of my life, beginning when I was
a kid. My father’s way of teaching me how to swim was by throwing
me in the water and telling me to fight and try every possible way
to get to the surface. This approach has actually helped me
overcome any potential fears I may have had, and ever since, I have
used sports to get through long study nights and long working
hours.
For entrepreneurs who are working hard to build startups, and their
employees, exercise is crucial for keeping you in good health.
According to many
studies, it also improves your mood and reduces depression. The
road to building a company is rocky enough; an even mood will
help.
Here are 10 reasons why exercising will make you a better performer
at work:
- It makes you determined. If you play a sport
on a regular basis, then you probably have a coach who is always
pushing you and shouting at you to help you get the best out of
yourself. If you don’t have one, then you probably have your own
ways to keep yourself motivated. Athletes always strive to push
their limits; any obstacle in front of them is just another
challenge. The same thing applies at work. If you stumble upon a
difficulty and have too much work to do at the office, if you can’t
get any investment or if your startup idea needs some adaptation,
you will learn not to give up. You will work it out, because, it’s
just another challenge for you.
- It reduces stress. Stress is an undesired
companion, especially if you are an entrepreneur. “I do exercise in
the gym before work, then I do some cardio, like taking a long walk
or jogging after work,” says Lebanese entrepreneur Mark Malkoun,
the co-founder of ReachFast,
an application that helps iPhone users call and message their
recent contacts more easily. “Entrepreneurs endure a lot of
stress due to the nature of their work, and exercising can help a
lot to reduce this stress and offset the harm that it's causing to
our bodies and minds."
- It makes you a better team player. Whether in
the gym, in the pool or outdoors, workout buddies always encourage
each other to perform better. If you're involved in a team sport,
like basketball or football, this increases your team work ethic.
Team players are also a great addition to any startup. By team
players, I mean those co-workers who help each other and
collaborate to get a specific task done efficiently, and who work
hand in hand to take their startups to a whole new level.
- It makes you more accepting of failure. Team
sports not only make you a better team player, but also help you
accept failure. When playing against another team, one of the two
teams will fail. Acknowledging that you failed is good, as it helps
you reconcile with yourself. In the workplace, accepting that you
failed when accomplishing a task or when launching an idea or
making an important decision, will first, help you understand the
mistake you made and learn from it, and second, work even harder to
avoid it in the future.
- It makes you more responsible. George
Washington Carver who once said, “Ninety-nine percent of all
failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.” In
team sports, just as at work, admitting that you broke the rules
lets your colleagues, your teammates and your boss realize that you
are a straightforward person who takes mistakes seriously and
doesn’t cover them up. This will make them trust you more and maybe
rely on you more often.
- It gets your creative juices flowing. A study
has shown that aerobics
are more likely to boost your creativity. Exercising doesn’t
train your muscles only, but also your brain. That is why sometimes
when you are out of ideas and go out for a jog, you feel much
better afterwards and the ideas start coming.
- It replaces your morning coffee. Have you
tried working out super early before coming to work? If not, try
it. It fuels your body with energy and jump starts your metabolism,
to get you ready for a long day at work. And if you're
bootstrapping, it'll be a good way to cut down on your coffee
expenses.
- It makes you a good listener and teaches you
self-discipline. Hind Hobeika, a competitive swimmer and
the brain behind
Instabeat, acknowledges that swimming has taught her
self-discipline, “which is SUPER important as an entrepreneur”, she
wrote in an email. It has also made her a good listener. “Swimming
has taught me to listen to a coach and train with a team, which is
the similar to listening to mentors and working with a team,” she
says.
- It gives you time to reflect. I personally
enjoy swimming a lot, and I try to do it four times a week. During
that time, I'm able to stop thinking about the outside world and
focus on my technique, endurance and pace. It's also a good time to
collect my thoughts and reflect. Hobeika agrees: “Swimming is my
alone time, the only time I’m not connected to anything but myself,
so I’m obliged to listen to my thoughts and do a lot of
reflection."
- It lets you meet potential partners or
customers. Last but not least, exercising is a social
activity. It allows you to meet new people or to get to know your
colleagues, employees or co-founders better. “Sports give employees
an opportunity to meet both colleagues and friends through a
healthy medium," said Derv Rao, co-founder of Duplays, a Dubai-based platform
that connects players to sports in their local
city. "Relationships are built above and beyond those formed
by conducting business together." (Disclosure: Wamda Capital
has invested in Duplays).
Companies should offer sports to their employees, he says, because these companies "have demonstrated a direct impact on the bottom line through lower sick days, better employee performance at work and a healthier social life, leading to increased employee happiness and retention.”
Sometimes it is good to just throw your laptop away, get out there and enjoy a well-deserved workout. Not only will it make you feel better, it might help you come up with the next best idea. And just like kids fight their way in the pool to reach the top, entrepreneurs and employees should do the same too, but not only in the pool.
Do you work out regularly? How has this helped you as an entrepreneur or as an employee? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments.