Life Lessons

[ky7403]

What are some of the life lessons that you have learned through your own personal experience or through your daughter or son that has been involved in gymnastics that you don't think you or they would have learned until later on in life.

 

[gymfan4ever95]

I think i have learned how to really work hard. I have also learned that you should never do anything half-way. If you going to go for it, give it all you've got. I learned this the hard way . I also have learned to get over my fears and to push through hard days.

 

[gracefulone]

There is just so much I have learned from gymnastics! Even though I quit mid season this year, it is such a huge part of who I am.

Some things have to be for you.

Nothing comes easy...you have to make it that way.

Work is good, but so is play.

It's important to trust and believe in yourself.

I agree with not going half way-life just doesn't work like that.

Bad days happen. So do good ones.

I learned to believe in luck, especially because the harder you work the more you tend to have.

It's important to surround yourself with people who want you to succeed, and to drown out those who only pray for your failure.

There's more, but I think I'll leave some for others to say

 

[T.Gymnastics]

i have learned how to deal with ppl better. i learned that life is not fair... but you deal with it. i learned to do thing with all youve got cuz if you dont your gonna get hurt. the coaches wont make you do anything they know you cant do. just have fun!

also i think that the younger girls on my team. 10/11 have become as mature as about a 13 yr old. they dont play the stupid im gonna poke you over and over games or anything. if they werent so short youd think they were 13.

 

[gymkat]

You can choose to be upset, angry, and cry and whine about unfairness when things don't go your way, a coach gets mad at you, you don't move up, etc., or you can choose to use it as motivation. Whatever happens, your reaction is your decision.

Avoiding obstacles makes them more difficult to deal with.

Not being incredibly talented at something isn't a bad thing-- it just means you have to work harder. It works the other way, too-- being talented means very little in the long run if you don't have the work ethic.

Good time management skills are incredibly useful in the "real world." I can't tell you how many professors have asked how I manage to balance my schedule-- but it's actually less busy than it was in high school.

 

[Robindq]

I also agree that I learned time management skills that have passed over to school and life in general.

Another huge thing i learned is how to set goals and strive to achieve them. I always have long term and short term goals for my gymnastics and when coaching. Doing this in the gym has taught me how to apply goal setting to other aspects of life.

 

[toriluvsgym0618]

i no this sounds kindof corny but never, never, never give up. cus its all worth it in the end. and even if all ur frends quit(like min just recently did cus of a gym coach change) if u want it more than any1 else dus, keep going if it is really wat u want to do and dont ever let any1 stop u.

and i also learned give it ur all, all the time. if u do it half way it wnt get u anywhere.

 

[snowbound]

Wherever your head goes, the rest will follow. This can be taken literally (look to the side and you will lose your balance) or figuratively (if your head isn't in what you are doing, you are going to wind up someplace else)

snowbound

 

[DearDeeDee]

What are some of the life lessons that you have learned through your own personal experience or through your daughter or son that has been involved in gymnastics that you don't think you or they would have learned until later on in life.

What a great question! And I LOVE that a coach asked it...

I learned so much in the 17 years I spent training and competing. The best part is, the lessons I learned as a gymnast have stayed with me -- and SERVED me -- in every aspect of my life (especially professionally). I have always referred to them as "life-lessons," too!

A few:

• "Trust yourself -- you know more than you think you do." ~ Dr. Spock
• People who are older know more. That's just the way it works.
• Cheer for other people to succeed. There's no room for bad karma if you want to be successful.
• Live based on the concept of plenty -- not lack.
• Love what you do or don't do it.
• Good days and bad days are a matter of choice. When things don't go as planned, you can choose to call it bad or to consider it an opportunity to learn something. All of life is a choice. We can be victims of circumstance or not.

Thank you for opening up this thread! I love reading everyone's responses.

Cheers,

DearDeeDee

 

[Granny Smith]

Gymnastics related:

Don't let one meet define who you are as a gymnast - everyone can have a bad day!

Life outside the gym:

- As of others have said - "time management."
- Working hard pays off.
- Believe in yourself!