This is a photo of one of my sons. Next week he and I will travel to Ohio so that he can compete in the Junior Olympics National Gymnastics competition.
Am I proud of him? You betcha.
This kid has been on a gymnastics team since he was 5 years old. The story goes like this – he was the only one of my kids who was a climber. When we would bring the family to the playground on a Sunday morning, all the kids would either be on the swings or on the climbing structure, well except for Trevor, who would always be on top of any high structure.
Yeah, I was the mom that all the other moms would send dirty looks to when Trevor climbed. Where was I? Why wasn’t I telling him not to do that? Didn’t I know he could fall?
Trying to keep Trevor from climbing would have been as effective as telling him not to breathe. It was in his blood, it was who he was. I signed him up for gymnastics classes hoping that if I couldn’t keep him from climbing, at least he would be taught how to fall safely.
After the second class, the instructor took me aside and in his Russian accent told me “your boy is on team.”
Trevor is now 16. He spends 24 hours a week in the gym with his team.
He’s good, he’s very good.
And he’s also an inspiration.
Often I hear from writers who are discouraged because their writing has not been published, a query was not picked up, or their manuscript lies in a drawer unfinished. They see themselves up on the podium, a gold medal winner, a published New York Times best seller, but in reality they are not even close.
Writers can learn a lot from hanging out with gymnasts.
Have what you need to write with, ready
Have your equipment ready for when you need it. Gymnasts, like writers, do not need much personal equipment to practice their sport but if you leave your grips at home, you can’t practice on the high bar. If you don’t have a pad, a pen, a computer, or even a recorder on which to take notes, then you can’t write. Always have your equipment handy and in good working condition.
Put your butt in the seat
If you don’t put the hours in, you won’t be able to do the routines. Gymnastics is a tough sport. One wrong move and you can get an injury that can take you out for months, if not years. In order to work up to the more complicated moves you need to spend time in the gym, nailing down each move before you try the next. In this particular case, (as in most other cases) practice does make perfect. If you don’t spend the time doing the work, you won’t ever improve.
Listen to your coach
A gymnast needs to listen to his coach if he wants to get better. A good coach will point out weaknesses, tiny changes in position that will increase height, or ways to calm yourself down so that you can perform at your peak. Even the best gymnast needs distance from his routine in order to make it better. This is done by listening to someone who has the eye and skill to make suggestions for improvement from an outside point of view.
Line up your awards
At this point my son has hundreds of ribbons and awards and while he can get embarrassed if we display them or show them to guests, there is no doubt that when he sees those awards on the shelf, he gets a bump of confidence. Every single award is confirmation of a success which helps to give him the confidence to try something new. Affirmation of previous accomplishement is a strong motivator.
So you fall off the horse, get back on
As a gymnast you can practice a specific routine for months and months. Even if you’ve perfected it in practice what counts is the meet. Sometimes you are going to fall off the horse (in this case the pommel.) It’s not the end of the world or your career, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad gymnast. It simply means that you need to keep your ego in check, learn from the experience, and try again.
No top athlete has ever said that being a gymnast is a breeze. Just as it is for writers, it takes years of practice, of ripping skin and muscle, of putting yourself out there to constantly be evaluated before you can ever hope of rising to the top and getting noticed by those who appreciate your sport.
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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.
Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).
I’ll be in Ohio next week, cheering my baby on.
excellent post and great advice. I’m putting together my tools in a to-go bag now. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a good idea and swear I’ll remember the words, but don’t. thank you and congratulations to your boy.
I have thousands of notebooks (one in each room, one in each pocket, each car, etc) Trying to remember stuff has never really worked for me.
Wendy
My wish is like your I believe,I wish him success and position number 1.
Very sweet post. I agree we can learn lessons from what we observe, even when it seems unrelated to writing. My daughter was also a jock and like you, I put her in gymnastics at an early age She did well, until she got so tall she couldn’t throw her long legs over the bar (she was 5 foot 5 inches by the time she was 10 1/2). My daughter decided to try out for basketball after her gym coach had to cut her from the demo team. She was disappointed, but not heartbroken, and re-directed her energy into playing ball, becoming a state All-Star, top scorer in NH and voted MVP for three years. It looked like she was destined for college scholarship (we even had scouts looking at her in 8th grade) but then she took another hit…instead of being too tall for a sport, she became too short. Although she was expected to hit about 6 feet 2 inches, she suddenly stopped growing at 5 foot 10 inches – way too short to play center position.
So….she became a dancer instead. All the gymnastics and the basketball training came into play – the flexibility, the endurance, the ability to coordinate with a team as well as hone individual skills.
Yes indeedy! Take what you’re given and make the most of it! And if you fall down, get rejected or somehow get thrown off the road or another, keep going until you find a new groove!
I hope your son find much success at the Jr. Olympic competitions. Good luck to him.
You make a good point about natural talent. What I didn’t mention is that you have to show some natural inclination in order for this all to work. You either love to write, (climb, twirl) or you don’t. Thanks for the good wishes.
Wendy
Love it. I’d like to echo your, “put your butt in the seat” section. The quote that comes to mind is, ‘writers write.’ A few months ago I got the motivation to start writing and have been able to maintain a consistent writing schedule. It does pay off, my writing is better and am getting very close to having a book proposal being accepted (the editor likes it and is pushing it for approval).
Excellent suggestions a nd great reminders – thanks!!
Materials. Butt. Coach. Awards. Back.
Gottit! Great post, thanks.
Nice post, Wendy, insightful with a lot of wisdom. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers,” he posits that it takes 10,000 hours to be successful in any endeavor. He has fascinating case studies of athletes, musicians, inventors who devoted that time and became household names. The Beatles played 8 hour concerts every night for 18 months in Hamburg to work on technique, song writing, and performing before they became the best rock group in the world.
Read about Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Bill Joy who were at the right time and place to learn about technology when computers were room size devices which few people knew how to use and program.
Might be a good idea to give your son the book. The opening chapter is about a high school Canadian hockey team who won the national championship.
Lots of wisdom in the book for anyone trying to be successful in any endeavor.
Fantastic! I used to be a gymnast and now try to write short stories…so, I can relate completely!
Wow, what an inspirational post. The best of luck to your son next week in Ohio and thank you for giving me the boost I needed.
Just what I needed to read today– thank you!
I was a (poor) gymnast in high school. Love it as a spectator sport! Very cool comparison to writing.
Great advice!
Butt in seat. No truer writerly words have been written. “Have what you need to write, ready.” Now that’s a piece of advice I could use. I, too, have notebooks everywhere – unfortunately, I forget where they are and what’s in them!
Fantastic post.
What a great analogy! I would say best of luck to your son, but i can see that his hard work got him where he is…it’s much more thatn luck…I hope his hard work pays off!
I love the butt in the seat and this post. Very insightful and I’m going to take those lessons and apply them to my writing as well.
Thanks for an inspiring post – and good luck in Ohio. – Deborah.
love that. im very surprised that you can keep the balance when you have 6 kids.
I love the analogies you made here. I think that we as writers can learn a lot from people in other disciplines!
Exactly the lessons I needed today, Wendy. Blessings on you and your son in Ohio!