We started taking gymnastics classes again this week. We had taken them a few years ago when we first opened the gym (and we were coaching all of the classes all day every day 7 days a week.) It has been a few years, but we decided it was time once again to work on some of our weaknesses. At 6′ and 6’4″ you can imagine that gymnastics aren’t something we are built for or that comes naturally for either of us.

So, that is why we do personal training with a gymnastics coach. I was a bit nervous to be honest, it had been a long time and I wasn’t sure what I would retain. Turns out, it’s much like riding a bike. It didn’t take long to get back into it and get upside down again.

But here’s the funny thing that happened. Previously when we went and were working on handstands, I didn’t have either the strength or confidence or knowledge or control that I needed to be successful. I was nervous about getting to that inverted position and so I just flung myself as hard and fast as I could. It’s hard to stop where you need to this way. But this time around instead of panicking and flinging myself upside down, I focused on strength and control.

And you know what? Something amazing happened! I was able to be slow and steady and controlled and find my center of gravity to be able to stick and hold a handstand position. And then you know what happened? The Coach challenged me to try handstand walks.

Now this is something was never even on my list of things I wanted to accomplish someday. I just always thought handstand walks were something I would never be strong enough or coordinated enough to do. I thought I was too tall and my shoulders were too weak and there were other things I would work on. And then I slowly kicked up under control, found my balance point and took 4 steps!

We can take control of things in our lives in this same way – small and large. Slow and steady and under control and we have the power to look at situations in a better light. Life does not always go the way we planned. We can work to control what we can, and work to control the way to think about and react to the things we can’t control.

This change in mindset is huge! It isn’t easy to put this into practice every day, and it is something that you need to work on each day. You may even need to find a coach of some sort to help. If you can control your thoughts and reactions to things, you have gained control of everything in your life!

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