Parents Everything I Need to Know In Life...

[MaryA]

I learned from my kid doing gymnastics!

In a different thread, Lilgymmie7 said that she needed to learn how to handle life the same way her daughter handles gymnastics. I started to reply to that, but loved it so much, I thought maybe it deserved to be its own thread. I will start, but I hope others will follow. If I lived my life the way my daughter does gymnastics, I would always...

...work hard as heck, but enjoy every minute of it!
...appreciate the intangible rewards as much as the tangible ones!
...treat my body with respect for all that it does for me!

I could probably go on, but I'll turn it over now and see what the rest of you 'rents can come up with!

 

[lilgymmie7]

Thank you! See, Mom's in tears! I am quickly learning through my little teacher that all in life deserves celebration, that our best judge is ourselves, that it is okay to be reflective and find our faults but never let those faults define us, that we can define our own success, that there is more to winning than how many medals we possess, that if we didnt meet our goal than WE need to go back into that gym/joint and hit it hard... I'd say I got lucky with the teacher I got! I wonder if these angels know just how much they enrich our lives.

 

[Coacharella]

You get out what you put in.

The power of positive thinking.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

you would learn empirical patience.

 

[bogwoppit]

Desire is essential or "you gotta wanna".

 

[ZZMom]

From my older daughter E I learned:

Hard work and commitment beat talent alone every time.
Don't let other people people's expectations or lack of them define you.
It's okay to be competitive! But still be nice!
Success in gymnastics is a journey NOT a destination.

From my little ZZ I have learned:

Gymnastics should be fun!
Grownups take things way to seriously.
Everyone gets tired, cranky, giggly, distracted, excited, focused, naughty and nice sometimes.
Five year olds are not machines.

 

[gymjourneymom]

Never, ever, ever, ever give up! It ain't over until the large woman(politically correct) sings!

 

[cadybearsmommy]

Love all of these! =)

 

[cher062]

If you say "I can't" you Won't, If you say " I can" you will!! (eventually - LOL)

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

That you have to really work for the things you want
That as adults we often underestimate children
That everyone learns things in different ways and at different times

... and that "competition hair" always takes far longer than you are expecting

 

[3rd_time_around]

That chalk is essential to good health, you must breathe it daily.
That spit on grips is not gross, but necessary.
That bloody toes and giant rips are the signs of hard work (eww!).
That splitting the beam always makes the dads who are watching suck in their breath and cross their legs!! LOL! And when you jump back on and do the skill again, you are the toughest girl they've ever seen, and they have a new sense of respect for what the girls do.

And more seriously, that if you want something bad enough, you have to work your tail off to achieve it.
That success does not come easily--it takes work, commitment, and sacrifice.
That an injury or setback can be seen two ways: a sign that it's time to quit; or an opportunity to overcome the odds against you to excel.
And that if gymnastics were easy, it would be called football!! Haha!

 

[twoofthem]

It's okay to fail and that mistakes are our biggest gifts. With out mistakes and failure you can't go any further so embrace them and push through them and learn from them.