How to become a "Corporate Athlete" by practicing self-care!

In the corporate environment, the concept of self-care has been non-existent. It has never been associated with improved or sustained productivity, and has certainly never played a role in how businesses, leaders, and influencers lead, or maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders. It also hasn’t been considered a quality of a leader, or a competency that can be developed. However, with fast-changing economic climates, increasing pressures to run a sustainable business, and the need to be a participant in the wellbeing and generative economy, self-care is under the microscope.

Why? Because every business, leader and influencer should be encouraging their employees and partners to be corporate athletes.

When people talk about self-care, it is often in the context of a person’s personal space, rather than considering it a business practice. However, the need for self-care in a wellbeing and generative economy can no longer be ignored when leaders, and influencers are not only starting to change their own way of thinking, but encouraging their employees and partners to do the same. The wellbeing of employees and partners has never been more crucial to creating a sustainable, and considerate economy, one that creates an environment in which all life can thrive. But self-care is not only limited to the physical wellbeing of the individual. Becoming a corporate athlete requires looking after yourself not only from a physical perspective, but from an emotional, mental and spiritual perspective as well. It requires a balance between being productive, and considerate of your own wellbeing, and a balance between energy expenditure and taking time to recover.

We live in an era where we work longer hours, spend more time in the office than we do at home, and remain unaware of the ‘wear and tear’ being in a corporate environment has on our bodies and our minds. It can even be said that the long hours, the increasingly stressful environments we find ourselves in, and our tendency to overwork ourselves to the point of burn out has an incredibly negative impact on our souls. The constant need we feel to be on the go, and be productive also has negative effects on our self-confidence, our ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships, and ultimately, our ability to become self-aware and conscious individuals. And that is exactly what we should be worried about. Nobody wants to become a drone, nor do they want to be led by a drone, and to shift the narrative that being grossly overworked is the new ‘norm’, we must start paying attention to what our bodies and minds are telling us. That means taking time for introspection, reacquainting ourselves with who we are as people, and being mindful of how we treat ourselves. It also means understanding our needs, and acknowledging that our own wellbeing needs to be prioritised if we not only want to be happy, healthy and productive people, but also if we want to be able to sustain a healthier way of living. What good can we be to society if we are physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually depleted? How can we be happy in the truest sense of the word and actively participate in the wellbeing and generative economy when we don’t give to ourselves what we so easily give away to others? The truth is, we can’t, and nor should we. We shouldn’t be happy sacrificing time for ourselves, time with people who add value to our lives at the expense of our own happiness and wellbeing. What we should be doing is taking better care of ourselves in every facet, and should embrace the universal truth that our bodies are our temples. We must be compassionate towards ourselves, our bodies, our minds and our souls, and in doing so, we will have compassion for others. We can uplift the people we work with, spend time with, and teach them that self-care is not selfish, but instead selfless.

By taking care of ourselves, we build the foundation necessary to become corporate athletes—we work and communicate on a conscious level, we are more self-aware when we pay attention to what we need, and we establish a narrative of wellbeing, sustainability, and improved productivity.