Nobody in this world can become a better person by overlooking the tiniest imperfections they have within themselves, and being a gymnast is all about struggling for those perfections. Unlike any other sport, this one is quite a bit difficult as in gymnastics, and the judges tend to search for the smallest deduction. A bent foot, slightest quiver, or little toe slouch can be considered an imperfection in the field of gymnastics.
This sport not only helps to make you physically fit but also has a good impact on your overall personality. And for me, it has proven to be true. Gymnastics is not only about learning tricks like hand spins and cartwheels. Yes, it is a plus point, but more importantly, it provides development in areas that helped me become a better human being.
Let us dig deeper into how gymnastics have inspired me to become a better person.

Boosted my motor skills:

Back in university days, doing complex pieces of training daily trained my mind for any sort of challenging situation. Learning motor skills was quite tough in the beginning, but sticking up to a proper training schedule has accelerated this process for better mobility and posture.
Not only it had a profound effect only on my body’s muscles and bones, but it promoted physical response and new learning skills leading to being more attentive and better communication. 
According to studies, people who perform more complex gymnast moves have a higher percentage of motor learning skills than those who stick with the basics. 
And since being a gymnast enthusiast, I have always preferred doing the trampoline exercises and complex moves. This is the reason that I am quicker to respond and have a better understanding of things that have helped me raise my 3 kids far better than anybody else.

Built coordination and balance:

We all have spent quite a few years at University, and I did too. During this whole period, I have practiced gymnastics. Gradually, my body had increased coordination and balance, which was the main reason for my being aware of my body and its movements because I started to realize how I will be able to use my different body parts in versatile ways.
Gymnastic is an organized sport; any sort of organized activity can help improve speed and balance. Not only that, but it also helped me alleviate my total body-strength by releasing the muscle tension that helped me in feeling more alive and conscious.
Let me give you a trick, if you wish to be a gymnast with top-notch balance, try doing side jumping jacks and sprints, this will help increase quickness, and the chances of muscle strains and other injuries will decrease.

Tackled my low esteem issues:

As a child growing up, I had low self-esteem issues like most of you. These problems were a hindrance to my daily routine and created a negative impact on my academics as well. I believe joining gymnastics at University was the best decision I have ever made because it has helped me a lot in uplifting my self-esteem without a shadow of a doubt. 
Not only that, but it also made me less nervous and good at handling other people’s criticism and judgments.
Generally, self-esteem is very important for athletes; these include gymnasts too. Why? Because you have to be self-aware and confident about your performance, have room for self-improvement, and train your mind not to be too harsh on yourself and over-perform during training.
Another benefit that it provided me was to be more confident and improve judgment. If you are a good judge to yourself, you will always know your weak points and work on them, and train in a harder way to build muscle.

Helped in dismissing depressive symptoms:

With low self-esteem comes depressive phases, anxiety, mood swings, and whatnot! I struggled with all of these while growing up, and after becoming a gymnast, it is safe to say that the research is correct! They have always emphasized reducing depression, anxiety, and stress by doing regular physical exercise, and gymnastics is surely a kind of exercise.
Long term depression causes the body to release neuro-endocrine secretion, which harms mood, sleep, and overall health. To combat such problems, sport-related exercises are the best. Physical exercise, including gymnastics, impacts the brain as it promotes endorphin release, which helps to fight restlessness, fatigue, and irritability trapped within you.
I firmly believe that gymnastics have surely helped me fight the darkness inside of me, and you should, too, try this option instead of opting for the counter drugs to fight such problems.

Better cognitive functioning:

How can I forget this one? Well, we know for sure that there is a link between physical fitness and cognitive function. When I decided to do gymnastics at the university, I noticed that the circuit training and other intense activities had enhanced my reasoning skills, verbal communication, and spatial ability after a few months.
Every time I leveled up as a gymnast by learning new and improved moves, it felt that I have become smarter. It helped me broaden my vision, grasp things quickly and easily, and became more attentive.
To conclude my journey of how being a gymnast helped me become a better person by improving my overall personality. It helped me in the above-mentioned aspects and also improved my bone health. And interestingly I lost weight! So I was more dedicated to jumping on this journey.
Everybody is aware of how important physical fitness is, and being a gymnast helped me tick mark all the boxes to become a better person. And these positive characteristics are being reflected in my mom's duties too.
So if you are willing to start gymnastics or have the spark in you to do so, take a step forward and start training. You read my experience. I am sure you will have a positive one too.

WRITTEN BY

Alicia Mines