How Game Day prepares you for a Workday

After playing soccer for almost 20 years, I hung up my cleats following college. My workouts now consist of my husband and I rotating early morning gym visits taken in a sleep-deprived state during the week and chasing a toddler around on the weekends. So needless to say, the days of being a true athlete have drastically diminished for me, but I still recognize certain traits and characteristics from the years as a competitive athlete showing up in my day-to-day professional life.

Keeping yourself disciplined
Many days I woke up before the sun to get my training in or spent late afternoons at my high school’s track preparing for high school and college preseasons in the dead of the summer. Although I looked forward to my workouts, there were times my body ached, and I was exhausted. The work wasn’t going to get itself done though so I had no choice but to push through. Fast forward more years than I’m willing to put my own self on blast for, and this same attitude still presents itself every day when being tasked with a work project or campaign. In the professional world, the work isn’t going to get itself done either. You might get some help on certain things from colleagues or peers, but you still have tasks with your name on it that need to be accomplished so dig in and get ‘er done.

Overcoming adversity and remaining determined
From the moment you become an athlete, you enter this world where you will be challenged in ways you never thought imaginable. Any time you push the limits, you will likely experience success and failure. Anyone can thrive when things are at their highest point, but what about on that downward slide – this is where grit comes in. Mine came in the form of many tough losses, a couple of missed penalty kicks, and one flimsy ACL. No matter the challenge, whether rehabilitating an injury or re-tweaking a skill to provide a better outcome for the next go around, everything needs to be met head-on.

When you trade in your letterman jacket for a blazer, this trait goes with you. Try to find me one successful person in the professional world who hasn’t failed…. good luck. Failing is what determination feeds on. The ability to overcome challenges isn’t something taught, it’s something you learn through first-hand experiences both good and bad.

Helping teammates succeed and recognizing mentors
If anyone in a position of great success has told you they climbed the ladder alone, you should yell, “lies” right in their face. In athletics, coaches, teammates, trainers, doctors, family members, you name it, they all play a part on the journey. The same goes for the career world. Bosses, colleagues, peers, family members, they all leave a footprint on your professional life, whether you realize it at the time or not. I find myself doing things now that previous bosses or colleagues had done or taught me to do. In turn, it’s essential to pay it forward and help those around you. What if your mentor didn’t spend the time to teach or guide you along the way? Whether you want to admit it or not, success wouldn’t reach you without their involvement.

Understanding that mistakes will happen
Not even Lebron James is flawless, his shooting percentage hovers around .504, meaning his misses close to half the shots he takes. Striving for perfection can be debilitating for an athlete or anyone for that matter. You’re going to make mistakes, and that’s important because it allows you to grow and learn from them. Ever look up anything DIY on Pinterest? How many times do you create an exact look-a-like of the image pinned to your board? Almost never. I’m probably the user who tags #PinterestFail on the most social media posts. Mistakes will happen, and you should welcome them when they do because that’s an open door to make yourself better.

Remaining motivated
It takes more than a hearty check and shiny trophy to motivate the most competitive athletes. Sometimes motivation comes from wanting to be better than the competition or achieve a new personal record.  The same goes for your career. Now before I get hit with comments about how people can be driven by money, I understand that, and maybe that will help inspire someone to be better at their job. However, my guess is that someone who is driven by the motivation to succeed or be the best at what they do will end up achieving that more often than someone who is driven only by money.

So after many years of bloody knees, rain-soaked ponytails and shinguard tans, I can honestly say I’m a better professional today because I was an athlete. I’ve even got some pretty sweet scars to prove it.