Day 5: Lessons Learned From My 8-Year-Old-#SOL17

Yesterday, my oldest competed at her state gymnastics competition, which closed out the conclusion of her competitive season for this year.  As I'm sure most parents would say who have children in sports or activities, I absolutely love watching her compete, and I'm in awe of how much she continues to grow in front of my very eyes.  The dedication, perseverance, and passion she puts toward gymnastics is incredibly admirable.

Here are 5 life lessons my daughter continues to teach me as an adult...

Growth Mindset: Will you make mistakes? Absolutely.  Do you need to be perfect? Absolutely not.  However, without a growth mindset, there will never be any growth at all.  You have to be willing to fail in order to grow. I've watched my daughter continue to model this time and time again.  She's always looking to improve, grow, and believes in the power of...yet.

Believe in Yourself: I love the quiet confidence that my daughter exudes.  She may be nervous before a competition, but you'd never be able to tell.  She dances in the car to her favorite music on the way, cracks jokes with her siblings, and just takes everything in around her.  She believes in herself no matter what happens and doesn't leave room for self-doubt.  She knows she will give her all, and that's all that matters.

Breathe and Smile: This one seems obvious, but something powerful to remember.  Whether it be vault, beam, floor, or bars, I watch how my daughter is preparing for her turn. Usually she's listening intently to her coaches' feedback from warm ups or visually thinking through her routines; however, something she always does before she salutes the judges is take a deep breath and then give a big cheesy smile.  Breathe and smile can go a long way.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: The thing that is fun about gymnastics is that while the girls compete individually on each event, they are competing as a team score at the same time.  Many of these girls have been together for years, while others have built relationships just this year.  Regardless of time, to see the support these girls offer to each other is something we all should strive to do for others.  They laugh, cheer, and even occasionally shed tears together, but through it all, they are a team. They want the best for each other and it shows.

Work Hard, Play Hard:   We work hard at what we love and are passionate about as individuals, yet with hard work comes the need to play hard too.  My daughter is at the gym a lot in a given week, yet despite everything on her plate, she finds the necessary time to unwind and find balance.  To her gymnastics is play because she loves it, but I love to see that she makes times for balance like playing outside, reading, or drawing.  Make sure to find that balance.  Making time to sharpen the saw is important.