Looking for professional growth? Play a sport

If you thought playing sports was only a young boy’s hobby in college, think again! Look up to the top honchos across the world and you will see the importance of sports in their lives. Tennis, golf, horse riding, polo, football and badminton are excellent examples of sports which not only keep you physically fit and active but also help in shaping your mental health.

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Here’s how playing sports can help you grow professionally as well:

Discipline and respect

When you religiously practice a sport alongside your full-time work, it teaches you to live a more disciplined life. Balancing one’s work, family, social life and leisure is all a matter of time management, and sports teach you just that. It also helps you become more respectful of people around you – be it your workplace colleagues, family members, friends or games buddies.

Perseverance

Someone rightly said, “Winning keeps you strong, but losing makes you stronger in life.” When you lose a match of your favorite game, you don’t stop playing it. You practice and play, and probably win this time, or lose yet again. The odds are equal, but one thing is constant – your perseverance. This spirit of sportsmanship also translates into your professional life and helps you overcome obstacles at your workplace. It teaches you how not to get bogged down by failures or losses and instead overcome them with greater conviction.

Leadership and teamwork

There is no way a team can be successful without cooperation and understanding – be it on the professional front or the leisure front. Playing sports instils a sense of teamwork and collaboration in you, and you feel greater affinity for people around you. Besides, it brings out your leadership skills to the forefront and makes you more confident to face life challenges.

Strategic thinking

Any sport requires strategic thinking to gain advantage over the fellow competitors. The same applies in a professional work scenario. You learn to think one step ahead of your competition and sharpen your analytical skills to be able to succeed.

Better networking

Physical activities and sports give you an opportunity to meet a large number of people from varied backgrounds. Such professional and personal friendships expand your social network and broaden your horizon of knowledge as well.

Improved Personality

When you meet people from different walks of life, you learn a lot of from their experiences and imbibe their qualities. Spending time with like-minded people, playing your favourite sports enriches your own personality. You learn to be more patient, sociable, accommodating and supportive. This definitely goes a long way in benefitting you on the professional front.

Busy work schedules leave very little time for us to rewind and engage in leisurely activities. Playing sports not only helps to break the monotony of work but also improves your productivity. It refreshes you after a long hard day at work and maintains your physical fitness as well.

So pick up the racquet and hit the ground right away!