I'd say my life was a little different growing up than the average kid. I grew up as a competitive gymnast, spending 99% of my time and energy in a gym from around 7 years old to 22 – learning and refining my next skill one after the other, practicing for consistency and perfection. Though I learned some amazing skills on and off the mat, gymnastics totally f*cked me, and let me tell you why (or did it?).
One of the biggest determents I experienced through gymnastics was the limiting belief that I was never enough — never good enough, no matter how hard I tried. It was more than the skills and talent. I was never skinny enough, and somehow also never fat enough. I was never blonde enough, never fast enough, never young enough, impossible standards that shifted depending on who was judging me that day. The constant stream of rejection and inadequacy ran deeper than the technicality of my performance of any skill and began to slowly wear me down like eroding stone. Day after day, the personal judgment affected my psyche deep from within, forming roots that would continue to grow into my adulthood.
The conclusion at the time was that I just had to work harder for what I wanted. Yes, it's a sport and it's part of the process. Mastering anything requires time and dedication. But it's the programming I'm highlighting, with direct relation to anything else we do in life. Our thought patterns, their consistency and where we focus our undivided attention on is what we'll create more of. This universal law is called the Law of Focus. What we focus on, grows. Whether it's rooted in fear or in love. Via this law, I focused so heavily on everything I wasn't, it slowly created limiting beliefs I was left to rewire for years to come.
The reality is perfection will never be achieved when it's hinging on someone else's standards. As much as we strive for it, it's an unattainable goal when we are not rooted to our self-worth and value. Self-mastery is the ultimate goal, and feeling totally in acceptance of oneself through the efforts in mastering a skillset.
For example, in gymnastics, our training was geared toward achieving a perfect 10.0 in execution. But the manipulation of the mind tied that goal of achievement to my worth on a human level. Accepting myself fully, regardless of any physical or personal critique from my peers or coaches, would have allowed more space for my brain to focus on mastery of the sport, rather than being overly critical of myself during training or competitions (was my hair perfect, my makeup flawless enough for everyone watching?).
The way my brain worked is I was in a constant state of 'not enough'. My nervous system was completely out of whack, and all I did was push myself day in and day out through fear, injuries, and judgement. Becoming numb and often losing sight of why I was doing this to myself in the first place.
I loved the sport. I truly enjoyed how much fun it was to train and master new skills. But it did leave me with wounds that took years to mend. It is without question that my higher self chose for me to master gymnastics with the angle of learning to navigate mental and emotional programming. Understanding the brain-body connection has shifted me at the core, and I am forever grateful for the lessons it has taught me. Without my time in gymnastics, I wouldn't know what I know now.
Looking back, I understand why. Our higher self is our superconscious mind, laying the blueprint for our human experience in each lifetime. What gets in the way of us achieving happiness is our human brain — the destructive thoughts and emotions that come and go. Without doubt, gymnastics is where I first came face to face with this major life lesson.
Our repetitive thought patterns bleed into every area of life. They move from the subconscious to the conscious, creating the world we live and experience. The wonderful thing about our brains though, is they are malleable. We can change our thoughts and build new pathways in the brain that rewire and rewrite old beliefs to new ones, as proven with neuroscience.
It is through our beliefs, that we can take responsibility and hold within our cells and neural pathways a new frequency to emit. Manifestation is science, all we need to do is shift our thoughts so we are a match to the reality we desire.
Exercise
What limiting belief do you feel is holding you back right now?