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Not everything we do has to be about our work or our career, and for some people, there’s plenty of motivation to learn a new sport and aim at becoming competitive on its own. If you’re a career-motivated kind of person, however, and you want every advantage that you can possibly get, then you might be ignoring the benefits that learning a sport could offer you. Here, we’re going to look at some of the surprising impacts that it can have on your work life.

Boost your mood

While we’re all becoming much more aware of the risks to our physical health, even in such seemingly innocuous work environments as the office, we have a long way to go when it comes to taking care of how work impacts our mental health, as well. Overtime, office politics, and pressure to succeed can all lead to stress and anxiety if left unchecked. Exercise is a fantastic stress buster as Help Guide shows. However, it’s also a natural mood booster. Sports offer even great mental benefits, as the time spent learning or practicing with others can help us ignore some of the physical strain of exertion and further release the endorphins that help skew our mood towards the more positive side.

Be more energetic and productive

Being in a better mood is already likely to help you be much more productive. However, the physical training that goes along with any sport is also likely to help increase your energy levels. Getting in a morning workout in particular is a great way to arrive in the workplace still feeling drowsy. You might be a little more physically tired, but your mind will be sharp and ready to work, helping you stay productive. What’s more, learning a sport is all about communicating, so it can even help you be of more value when it comes to collaborations and team meetings. Thanks to that, your efforts in the workplace are even more likely to be recognized because you’re clearly a more engaged employee.

Be detail-oriented and disciplined

Exercise requires a little learning but the key difference between simply exercising and learning a sport is that sports actively require that you learn and remember many different details of the discipline. Martial arts are a great example of a heavily detail-oriented sports. Judo Info shows that not only do you have to learn the physical forms and techniques, but even simple things like etiquette and the correct way to tie your belt. This can help you improve your memory and your ability to pay attention to the little details. The discipline learned as a result of sticking at a sport and witnessing your own improvement can help you become a lot more disciplined in the workplace. Motivation and discipline aren’t something that you have in a set quantity but rather they’re a mental muscle that requires training over time. Sports can be just the way to do.

Improve your stamina and dedication

Even if your workplace is an office, there’s no denying that work of any kind can be physically tiring. Staying focused and sharp for all that time is going to take its toll on you. Sports help you build not only skill, but stamina, strength, and focus. This means that it’s going to seriously benefit you when it comes to that crunch time and you simply have to put in the extra hours to finish off a project. Very Well Fit shows some great exercises and sports for building that stamina to help you put in the extra work when it’s most needed.

Spend less time off sick

It might seem like something of a minor point when compared to the transformative effect that sports can have on your life but spending less time off due to illness is a benefit that both you and your employers or clients can readily recognize. Not only does exercise improve your immune system significantly, but it also reduces your risks of developing a chronic condition. This includes things like diabetes and heart disease but also the prevalence of chronic pain in your back, joints, or neck. With fewer days off sick, you’re not only going to impress employers, but you’re also going to notice a marked uptick in your own productivity.

There are few things that can offer such a comprehensive transformation to your life as putting the time into fitness and healthy eating. Sports are a great way to structure them and to have a little fun with it, too.