Men's Mental Health and Wellbeing - with Chengetayi Mapaya!
In November, organizations across the world shine a spotlight onto a topic which is not discussed nearly enough, Men’s Mental Health. In an industry that brings life-changing rewards, working in the recruitment sector has its fair share of challenges and much like life itself, springs up difficulties to overcome when you least expect it.
One of the leading talents based in our Dallas office, Chengetayi Mapaya (Some may know him as Du ‘Airlines’ Mapaya, but more on that shortly!) took some time to share his story with colleagues from across the business. In an internal webinar session, Chenge spoke across a number of topics in a 30-minute session. Covering his childhood in Zimbabwe through to his accepting of a scholarship to study at Texas Christian University (TCU) and to develop his passion for athletics, specifically in the Triple Jump. Chenge isn’t just making up the numbers either, he’s won multiple gold medals and aims to be representing his country on the track at the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris next year!
In order to balance his work and training, Chenge follows an incredibly strict regime, which he shared with us:
04:50 – WAKE UP
05:30 – Gym session 1
06:30 – Drive to work
08:00 – Work at Energize
17:00 – Finish at work
06:45 – arrive back home
19:15 – Gym session 2
21:00 – Stretch routine
21:15 – Sleep and repeat
That’s quite the schedule! But you don’t become an NCAA and African U20’s champion without serious levels of commitment, discipline and of course talent!
Discipline, alongside resilience, time management and bouncebackability are traits needed by the best recruiters too, but it’s not always easy. Setbacks can be crushing. Chenge learned this following the Tokyo games where he picked up a serious knee injury, which had kept him off the track for some time. Chenge shared other tips and advice that are key to success in athletics which also transfer well to recruitment and life in general. In a truly honest and open moment, Chenge shared details of how he felt during his lowest moments, his tips for navigating those spells and crucially, how he came back from the lowest points in his life.
Remember your ‘why’ –
At those lower moments, which every part of life has, remembering why you started on the journey you are on will help to ground you and navigate the storm.
Planning is vital –
Fail to prepare then prepare to fail. It’s a saying for a reason! The more prep you do the more time you save down the line, freeing up precious hours for more time-sensitive tasks.
Be consistent –
There are days when you won’t feel like training, feel like you can’t give your best. Those days are where your resilience comes in, still getting to the gym to train or still taking the time to plan when the best you can give is 80% will mean overall improvements every day.
Work hard –
As alluded to in his previous tip, working hard isn’t about being at 100% every single moment of every single day, it’s about getting 100% from what you can give at that moment and being consistent with your efforts.
Chenge continues to be an absolute powerhouse of recruitment, alongside a competitive Olympian. He is currently training to be in Paris in 2024 and everyone at Energize will be full steam behind him in his quest to add Olympic gold, to his recruitment gold.
Let’s go!