Why the boxing ring is similar to life at an agency

Marketing and boxing have more in common than you’d initially think, as I found out in recent months, training for my first fight. If you don’t focus on your target, get in the right position and strike at the right moment, you can end up getting knocked out. There also isn’t a short cut to being the best. You have to put the time in, work the hardest, and be laser focused on what you want to achieve.

You would be forgiven for thinking that boxing is a solo sport, but without someone in your corner you would have little chance of success. Like any successful venture, it requires planning, hard work and support. In your career as you do in the ring, you need someone who pushes you, encourages you, and holds you accountable, so you can be your best.

With other sports, people say the hardest thing is turning up and signing up. This isn’t the same for boxing! Signing up is easy, stepping into the ring is terrifying. You are going against all your natural instincts that keep you safe, and against everything that a civilised society has made you, and you’re doing it in front of hundreds of people. Many sporting challenges are purely physical, whereas with boxing, you need to be as fit as possible, and you must train your brain to manage the stress both before and during the fight. As someone with the ability to see red straight away, this was a challenge for me! If you lose your head, you will lose. You’ll burn out too soon, and there will be no blood left in your head to think rationally.

I found that having a physical challenge looming made other challenges and issues pale in comparison. I’m not sure this is exactly a good thing, as the anxiety that builds leading up to fight night is pretty intense. You’ll be sat working, then your brain wanders off to the fight and your stomach does an involuntary back flip and you have to calm yourself down and refocus.

When work was difficult or high pressure, I never found it daunting in the way that my boxing fight felt daunting, so I didn’t allow it to stress me out.

As someone who’s always played sport and exercised, I believe doing something physical makes you better at your job and a happier person in general. Taking on something new was fun and challenging, because I was facing the unknown and I believe the older we get the harder it is to step outside your comfort zone. A lot of us have settled into a routine and a stage of life that works and doesn’t require much adjustment. This happens in your job as well. You can get comfortable, not push yourself or your clients to be better, or think that you know what they’re going to say and think that you’ve seen it all. But actually, there is always more to learn!

 

If you’d like to have an informal chat about how Wardour can help with your marketing and communications, pop us an email at hello@wardour.co.uk – we’d love to speak to you.