Sports and Business – How Does Playing Sports Help Me Run My Business?

For as long as I can remember, sports have taken up a lot of my life. For a few years I trained in volleyball, swimming, and karate kyokushin; now I mainly run, go to fitness classes, and sometimes, I hike in the mountains.

You can talk a lot about how important sport is to have a slim or a healthy body. However, apart from a solid dose of endorphins, I can see how it hardens my character, how it helps me in my daily tasks. What exactly do I mean? In this post, I will present the benefits that I observe at home, which I certainly owe to practicing sports. Sports and business are definitely an important combination.

1.Perseverance

I consider myself a very persistent person. I will not say I’m stubborn, although I probably am to a certain extent. What I mean is that I don’t give up so easily, and I certainly owe that to karate training. When I got weak, sensei often stood in front of me and said to my face, “Act; fight to the end!” It’s hard to describe what mix of feelings and thoughts appeared in my head at the time. However, as a result, I always found energy reserves that allowed me to complete the planned training.

I left satisfied, full of self-confidence and satisfaction that I had overcome myself and fatigue, but above all, I overcame thoughts and doubts as to whether I could manage.

Whenever I have a bad day or something doesn’t go the way I want, I remember the workouts, and the memory of them works better for me than motivational slogans, which are so popular on the Internet.

2.Discipline

Discipline is another feature that I would not have had if it were not for the numerous hours spent in training. Sticking to the plan, taking care of it in the right order and time, made it easier for me to care for issues related to running my own business.

My own business makes me a master of my time. Especially in the beginning, when I didn’t have a team, discipline was necessary to keep me from getting lazy. It kept me in line better than deadlines.

3.Patience

I don’t like to wait; I’m definitely used to the immediateness of the modern world. Still, I understand that a lot of things take time. For example, I can’t run 20 kilometers when I’m just starting training. Instead, I will gradually increase the number of kilometers covered each day to finally run the desired distance.

For me, patience is inseparable from humility. The humility that tells me that only persistent and patient work will give me results.

Similarly, in business, everything cannot be achieved immediately. Most things need time and a proper strategy that will be implemented conscientiously.

4.Openness to people

Sports usually involve teamwork, common training, and friendships, as well as relying on each other, mutual trust, and a common goal. Sport is also conducive to establishing new relationships. Whether in the mountains on the trail, in a hostel, or in a fitness club, someone always comes along and makes a joke, and that’s how friendship begins.

When a potential business partner trains in a similar discipline as I do, we make contact much faster and more efficiently. Shared passion connects us and makes us better understand each other, and it is easier for us to establish the terms of cooperation.

5.Ability to work in a group

You can’t do everything by yourself. And if we persist, it’s very difficult. Most team sports require us to specialize in a given area. I only recently understood how I can use it in my company. I used to want to be Little Miss Independent, who knows everything well and can handle everything every time. With the development of the company, I see that I am no longer able to control everything, and I need to cooperate with others, to find people better than me who are more effective in other areas so that I can take care of what I know best.

6. Distance and the ability to be with yourself

Just like I love people—their company, conversations, spending time together—I also just need some time to myself when I’m figuring things out and planning. For me, running alone is the best strategy for this. Therefore, I have not taken part in marathons, and I do not plan to take part in marathons; I do not share with the world how many kilometers I ran on a given day, because running is my meditation, which is only for me.
7.Aim higher

The body quickly gets used to physical exertion. It used to be a challenge for me to do 50 crunches; today, 100 is no problem. Sports show how we can push the limits in places that previously seemed impossible to us. And this, in turn, makes us gain faith in ourselves and our abilities. It teaches us to aim higher.

Training proves to us how we can transcend the current idea of our borders, develop, and achieve success, and not only in sports.