How to overcome fears

The best way to overcome the fear of flipping is to get angry. I realize that emotional energy directed properly can over power our thoughts and bodies.

When I first began learning gymnastics it was fun and adventurous. I didn’t know where it would lead me at the time, but kept open to it. Then oneday we started learning backhandsprings. At first it came natural, until I started imagining the “what if” scenario. It started creating fear about the unknown which started affecting the way I was performing. Eventually I got so scared of trying to do a backhandspring, that I couldn’t even jump properly.

I was afraid for 2 reasons. The first was the thought of falling on my head and hurting myself. The second was the greatest fear, which was being afraid like everyone else and growing up to be like them. I started imagining all the wonderful opportunities fading away because I let my fears take over. This really got me angry to the point that I said to myself “That’s it! I’m going to learn this flip and master it! I don’t care if I fall on my head because I will not give up!” Then the next time I was at the gym, I brought that attitude with me. I visualized myself doing the flip and then combined my emotions. The first attempt at doing the flip was successful and I came out of it thinking “wow that’s not so bad! Let’s do it again.” Then I kept practicing over and over until my emotional confidence was repaired.

After learning the basic flip and overcoming my fears, I imagined myself mastering that move where I could do it alone in the gym, on grass, on concentrate, on ice, and oneday on movie sets. If there’s any advice I can share about overcoming fear, its to really look within yourself and awaken the warrior spirit. We have so much power beyond our current knowledge, and its healthy to use your imagination and emotional energies to the max!

If we can flip our fears, consciousness and attitudes, then together we can flip this world!