The One About Being Terrible At Something

Jake the Dog speaks the truth

Most, if not everything we do we once sucked at. Even the most basic skills like tying your shoes were once monumental tasks only performed by the most skilled people…aka your mom. Hopefully, through persistence and practice you at some point mastered tying your shoes and went on to tackle new and even more difficult tasks.

While it is easy to become discourage because we are comparing our fumbling attempts to polished routines performed under the big top it is important to remember the circus arts are no different from shoe laces. Each performance starts with simple skills building on one another and small victories.

When I started hooping I was constantly inundated with videos of the very best in the discipline spinning hoops at high speeds and constantly pushing the bounds of their tools. At 5 weeks of daily practice I was barely able to maintain the hoop at my waist. So often we feel like we need to immeditaly be masters at our craft when we should allow ourselves to be students first.

A skill means you had to learn how to do it

Here are the top 5 things I try to remember when working towards my goal

1. Practice - You do not have to put restrictions on your practice just spend time each day making your passion a part of your life. That can be as simple as researching new moves, taping your hoop or just working for 5 minutes on stretches. Make your hobby a habit
2. Give yourself permission to fail – If you are not failing you are not pushing your limits. Try for that hoop trick you saw on youtube or try that silk trick you could not quite complete last week. If you are only doing things you know you can do it will look great but you will not continue to grow in your discipline.
3. Don’t measure yourself against others – Mentors and goals are a great part of any discipline but do not let comparison discourage you. The only person you should compare yourself against is the performer you were yesterday and the performer you are today.
4. Circus hurts – This sounds kind of terrible but it is true. You are going to bruise, burn and bend yourself to discomfort but stick with it. Those pains will go away to be replaced by new ones but that means you are learning.  Practice within reason but do not be afraid to push your limits
5. Love the process –Even if you are trying to learn a new and impressive trick do not let it own you. Celebrate successes…even the tiny ones. Even if you only held the handstand for a second or you had to help the hoop around with your hand it counts. You are learning and that means not doing it perfect every time. You did it once now you can do it better in the future. Enjoy your practice. Do not lose sight of why you are doing this. Have fun!

Safire created a great video on this topic. It has been an inspiration to me on my journey.

Love the Process!