This audio was created using Microsoft Azure Speech Services
My name is Juan Ignacio Rodarte. I am 39 years old and I have worked for Schneider Mexico since the end of 2019. My academic background is in Engineering and I am currently part of the Secure Power Organization. I have been married for 12 years now and I am father of three lovely boys, Iker (7), Pablo (5) and Adrian (4).
As mentioned above, I went to school and got an engineering degree. However, my true passion and calling (my Ikigai) is physical activity. I dreamed for a long time while I was growing up about becoming a soccer player. However, due to different circumstances (knee surgery among others), I never got to make my dream come true. Fortunately, my parents always insisted that I should keep studying and school was always top priority.
Staying Active
After I finished college, I studied in the Mexican Soccer Federation to be a soccer coach (yes, I can be a little stubborn), with the idea of making a living out of my passion. However, after several attempts to make sports or physical activity my main source of income, I gave up and continued working as an Engineer.
However, I have always found ways to stay active. Running has been my main activity for some years now, to the point that I have already run 7 Marathons, and my dream is to run the 6 majors (Boston, Chicago (done), Berlin, Tokyo, London, New York). I also like exercising on a regular basis (functional training mainly), but my heart is and will always be with soccer.
During 2020 (the most challenging year in a long time), I started an online fitness class with some friends and acquaintances. And, as expected, this turned out to be my therapy and my distraction from a day full of meetings and tasks at work, while being at home with three kids in virtual school. It has also been a way of bonding with my kids because they sometimes participate in them as well.
Well-Being at Schneider Electric
So, after a few months, I decided to approach the former Well-Being coordinator in Schneider Mexico, to tell her that I wanted to start teaching a similar class to our colleagues. She agreed after some conversations and the project started on October. The class hasn’t yet had the impact or penetration I thought it could have, but I am convinced that if I help a couple of people to feel better physically or mentally, then my job has been fruitful.
This activity is just a small piece of a bigger puzzle called: “Schneider’s Global well-being strategy” that seeks to “create an environment where employees are empowered to manage their unique life and work by making the most of their energy”. There are a lot of resources and activities in which colleagues can be involved such as Well-Being Labs or other live and self-paced workshops.
The Coach’s Corner
The idea of the “Coach’s Corner” is to communicate why I consider physical activity a great way of living. I plan on publishing periodically information about fitness, nutrition, well being and a balanced way of life. Our new reality is challenging and requires more than ever, the proper amount of handling stress at our jobs and a good dose of leisure activities.
For the time being, I will leave you with a couple of tips to keep active during workdays:
- Schedule time for physical activity: whether it’s 15 minutes or an hour, put it in your calendar! Otherwise, it is not going to happen. Everyone is full of tasks and chores; time is not enough if you don’t plan ahead
- Walk. Spend ten minutes every two hours walking outside your house or at any available location. Your brain and body will thank the pause and you will go back to activity with a fresher attitude
I hope you find the information useful and interesting, and I would love to hear your thoughts and comments about the matter. And, until the next time… keep moving!
About the Author:
Juan Rodarte is Sales Operations Manager for Secure Power for Mexico and Central America. He has been with the company since 2019. He lives in Metepec, Mex with his wife and three kids. His hobbies are running (among other sports), playing board games with the family and movies.
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Conversation
Víctor Figueroa
4 years ago
More than ever, we all need physical activity to release stress and to keep away from sickness. I admire that you invest your personal time in coaching your colleagues because as you say, that could make a difference in someone´s life. I’ve just been in a couple of sessions with you, but I can tell that it helped me “dust off” and start training again on a regular basis. I bought a new pair of dumbbells and a barbell and I have been training the exercises you showed in the sessions about 3 to 4 times a week. (Obviously starting with low weight and warming up very well to avoid injury). I will promote these sessions with my colleagues too. Thank you very much and let´s rock it!
Juan Rodarte
4 years ago
Thanks for your comments Victor! Glad you are using the exercises in your spare time. As I mentioned, the idea is to help and to promote physical activity within the Schneider community. Keep rocking!