Shortly after moving to Boulder, someone told me a funny joke about people in Boulder. It had to do with how athletic and outdoorsy people are who live in this area. It’s very common when meeting new people to ask “So, what do you do?” In most places, when people ask this question, they are referring to your job. But according to the joke told me, in Boulder, when someone asks you “What do you do?”, they are referring to what outdoor/athletic thing do you do — whether it be rock-climbing, bicycling, running, hiking, skiing, etc.
Colorado’s population has been on the rise for several years now, and I have to believe a large part of the attraction is outdoor recreation. Colorado as a state has the lowest obesity rate seemingly because people love to be active pretty much year-round. And what better place to play outside, than in a state full of trails, river, mountains that gets on average 300 days of sunshine per year? While many in other parts of the country are lamenting the approaching of winter, I look forward to winter with as much glee as summer, as I count the days until the opening of ski season. There’s really no “off-season” when it comes to outdoor activities here.
I’ve found that this pursuit of outdoor activity has influenced and continues to influence my career choices. Because I want to be able to have time to enjoy all that the great outdoors has to offer, I find myself much more attracted to organizations that provide more work/personal life balance, with lower stress levels overall at work. It used to be I was consumed with wanting to find jobs that sounded good, and seemed important. I often found these types of jobs to have very stressful work environments, and while the job sounded good, I didn’t feel good while working there. Today, because I find the priority for me is finding a job and workplace that I can be myself, have fun, and most importantly leaves me plenty of “play time” for my outdoor pursuits is what fulfills me the most.
