The Power of a Little Adventure
What kind of skills would you most like to cultivate to help your professional – and personal – development in 2020?
As an outdoor adventure hub with a big interest in wellbeing, it’s a question we put regularly to our corporate friends and partners. And there are some common and oft-repeated themes that almost always wing their way back:
- Better focus
- Better stress management
- A better work life balance
We’re willing to bet that our top three resonates with you, too. In this age of constant distraction, the sense of being overstretched, over stressed and overwhelmed is pretty much universal.
Ironically, it is something we probably all claim to be ‘mindful’ of.
STRUNG OUT SOULS
For a while now, there has been a growing consensus that meditation and mindfulness is the key to soothing our strung out, stressed out souls.
Forward-thinking global brands like Apple, Google and Nike have invested heavily in mindfulness courses and time out for their employees. Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey are well known advocates of the power of meditation.
You won’t hear anyone at Adventure Parc Snowdonia argue against the power of focusing your thoughts with mindful techniques. The idea that being more present in each moment can have a significant effect on productivity and wellbeing is an obvious no-brainer.
But does mindfulness always have to be done in a quiet, meditative environment? Over here in North Wales, we don’t think so.
We believe it is entirely possible to achieve many of the same great benefits we associate with mindfulness and meditation – like concentration, compassion and self-belief for example – by participating in adventure.
IMPROVING FOCUS THOUGH ADVENTURE
The pay-off to taking part in any activity that pushes your boundaries is the enormous sense of wellbeing that it immediately serves up as your reward.
It’s not just about releasing a rush of endorphins – though that’s a nice side effect – it’s way more profound than that. It’s about the sense of freedom, the self-belief, the intense connection to your immediate environment.
Take surfing, for example.
When you’re out there on your board, your focus and attention is completely taken up with being in the moment.
All of your consciousness and effort is put into managing the best outcome possible: catching this wave, making this pop up, standing on your board and staying upright for more than half a second.
By sticking at it and incrementally taking on bigger challenges – catching more waves, making more pop ups, standing up on your board for longer and longer each time – you gradually expand your sense of what you’re capable of, what you can overcome, what you can achieve if your only put your mind to it. That’s a powerful lesson to apply to everyday life. And to take into the office or boardroom.
If our corporate guests, friends, and colleagues are right, it seems we’re all looking for the gift of better focus, less stress and a better work life balance.
Maybe having a new adventure is just where we might find it.
BOOK YOUR NEXT TRIP
Fancy booking in for your own adventure? Let’s do it! Book online or call us on 01492 353 123. If you’re interested in coming with a group of colleagues, please take a look at our corporate packages here