I have a strong view that life is better as part of a team. Being part of a team – whether it be a sporting team, a family team, a faith team, a service team, an interest team, or a business team – allows you to be more successful in every part of life. It allows you to benefit not just from your own ideas and efforts, but the ideas and efforts of other people as well. These efforts are additive and multiplicative, because different people contribute in different ways in different amounts to common goals. Two people rowing one boat move faster than two people rowing different boats.

The benefits don’t just accrue for the planned goals of the team. Obviously, a football team is better at playing football than a football individual. But joining a team can have a number of positive benefits for your health, social, mental, and spiritual well-being off the field, as well. Being part of a team can provide a sense of belonging, support, and purpose that can improve your overall health and well-being.

Sports Teams

One of the key benefits of joining a sports team is that it can improve physical health. Even social sports teams offer most of the fitness benefits: you don’t need to play at an elite level. You will get the most improvement to your fitness and your life when you increase your sports team membership from 0 to 1.

The discipline imposed of being part of a sporting team requires you to turn up (often!) to training and (often!) to matches. Not only are those the direct benefits of taking part, but having a regular rhythm is helpful to humans.

How to join a sports team

The easiest way to choose a sports team is to think about which sport you enjoyed most at school – and find a local club which plays that sport. You will be delighted to discover that they will welcome you, no matter how unfit you are, no matter how weak you are at playing the sport. After all, I was accepted into a hockey club despite having never played the sport before.

Netball – (Field) Hockey

Family teams

Most of us grew up as part of family teams, and these family teams are usually very good teams. They’re not great in some objective sense where your family is literally the finest collection of humans, but they’re great in the sense that they are your family team.

My biggest mistake in my life – so far! – has been not building and forming my own family team. People create love, and creativity, and art, and beauty, and make the universe a better place. I should create my own family (soon!).

Faith Teams

Having a framework for understanding the purpose of life is useful. Whether that be a Christian, or Humanist, or Jewish, or other perspective, there’s strong evidence that people who join such organisations live happier and longer lives. Fitting the world into a framework of viewing the world can make it more understandable, and the oldest frameworks are likely to be very strong and resilient. Fads and cults come and go, but good ways of understanding the world will remain.

How to join a faith team

The easiest way to join a faith team is to go to the various websites or Facebook groups of faith teams that you’re interested in, and give them a phone call. You might want to go along and learn a little bit about a few different faith groups and find one that speaks to you.

Churches in the Isle of Man

Interest teams

There are a whole variety of interest teams operating in our community – from theater groups, to arts groups, to mothers clubs, and so on. Each of them will help you to develop, explore, and grow your interest.

How to join an interest team

Type your interest into Google and choose one of the results!

Service teams

I believe that service and production is more important than consumption – that service to your community makes your world a better place. You might do that by serving people in need, by cleaning our spaces, or in some other manner.

How to join a service team

Pick up the phone or send a message to a service team that you admire. My service teams would love to have you come along – you do not need to commit forever, just turn up and see how you feel about them:

Rotary Club of Douglas, Isle of Man – Graih homeless charity