Running Home for Home Runs

October 21, 2021

1166

Springfield Chamber Staff Activities
Outside of Work

Elora Kelsh, Manager, Marketing & Communications

Pictured above: Chamber Staff Elora’s fall 2021 co-ed softball team, “Sons of Pitches,”
posing after their last game of the fall season, undefeated after all 10 games.

Pursuing passions outside of our day-to-day duties and careers can at times feel daunting. It’s easy to fall onto the excuse that there just isn’t enough time in the day to pursue activities outside of our normal routine, that we’re too exhausted to do so. At least, this was where I found myself months ago. After full days of mental focus and critical engagement at work, having to come home to other duties like cooking and cleaning while maintaining relationships, my own health, and more, I felt that the window of time left for myself to unwind was starting to feel unproductive, repetitive, and boring, leading to less drive and productivity at work. But when I decided to (finally) sign up for a personal activity I had long wanted to pursue, it ended up positively impacting aspects in all areas of my life in more beneficial ways than I initially realized it would.

The activity I pursued was signing up for a local co-ed softball team through the Eugene’s Parks and Recreation department. While it may not sound very monumental right off the bat (pun intended), it was a significant personal achievement, taking the step to allow myself the time and space to pursue something that honestly made me feel good. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves– while I’m perfectly good at playing softball, I’m nowhere near Star Player status. I started playing as a kid throughout high school back in California on the city league there, but the activity dropped off once I left for college. I had always enjoyed the time spent outside, the level of physical activity in the sport, and comradery formed with teammates. Joining a team after all these years allowed me the opportunity to make new friends with shared interests and have a scheduled time where I didn’t have to focus on anything else except for the game in front of me. Another add-on value of team sports is in the word itself – TEAM – knowing how to work with others to achieve a shared goal trickles into teamwork in the workplace and in all aspects of life.

This article from the Harvard Business Review really stuck with me – The Unexpected Benefits of Pursuing a Passion Outside of Work. To summarize, while they say you should always work in the field that is your greatest passion, it is not realistic to stake one’s entire self-worth on your career. While it is true that we should love our work, we should also love what we do outside of work – when you stake your whole self-worth on your job, it not only be draining, but also dangerous. Engaging in something you’re passionate about and that’s meaningful can have positive outcomes on your health and overall happiness.

Our workplace can also have an active and significant role in achieving extracurricular success. Pursuing activities can be hard when work hours are long, unpredictable, or if managers expect absolute dedication to the job. When they instead step in to support workers in these pursuits by offering flexible schedules/ reasonable PTO opportunities, volunteer/ extracurricular activities, or by simply encouraging employees to think about what they want to pursue, they end up being effective leaders that aid their team and workforce in being their best selves. I give much credit of feeling good about my softball team to my team at work. Aside from the glowing encouragement from management and coworkers, they even came out to some of my games to cheer me on – which warmed my heart and gave me an additional sense of fulfillment.

So, take my advice: go ahead and sign up for that dance class, that volleyball team, or those drum lessons – or all of them, as long as you can effectively manage them all! Or if you are an employer, encourage your team to pursue these outside hobbies. Some activities are good to keep separate from work – we don’t always want to “sour” what we love by attaching the stress of necessity for money out of it. Embracing the activities that bring us joy and energy to tackle the days ahead supports our mental health and inspires us to lead full lives, and bring our best selves back to work.