#MSBLFriday411 – Recharging

This week's #MSBLFriday411 won't be breaking down any of the important news that's broken over the last week, but in fact, nothing substantial except a lesson I learned the hard way in my sports career…what recharging truly means.

When I started working in sports, it was as the Director of Basketball Operations for Western Washington University's Men's Basketball team. I got a swift lesson on what life in sports really means during that season as we entered the regular season my hours and duties tripled from the off-season and I loved every minute. It wasn't until my most recent job in athletics as a community college athletic director that I found myself falling out of love with a career that had been a career of passion for me. The root of that was that I wasn't genuinely recharging at the end of the day or the week, I was coming home and falling asleep on the couch and still feeling I needed to be connected to my phone when I didn't need to.

It wasn’t after leaving that position that I was lucky to take the 100x Leader certification from Kevin DeShazo with Culture Wins, and I realized what recharging truly means. It means getting out from behind your desk, disconnecting, and taking time to be present with family (and/or friends.)

I was lucky enough to spend the last week with family as we drove from Washington State down to Yellowstone National Park (currently in the process of driving back) and got to see the crown jewel of the National Parks System, amongst many other great memories. There is nothing more liberating than spending the entire day with little-to-no cell signal and being fully present in the moment and taking in one of the (if not the most) beautiful places on this earth.

No matter if you work in sports or not, I think everyone agrees that cell phones and technology have negatively impacted our work-life balance to the point that we feel we HAVE TO be connected and available. Especially as the sports world continues to come to grips with what exactly the upcoming year will look like, friends and colleagues furloughed or laid-off because of cutbacks, take some time to disconnect and truly recharge. I've heard that working in sports isn't JUST a career it's a lifestyle, which I can't disagree with, but we all need that time to help ensure we live that lifestyle as healthy as possible.