It’s been about 6 weeks now since I’ve started my Circus School classes and I’m really loving being able to jump around, test my physical limits and re-learn old tumbling skills.  Like I mentioned in my post about about “Never Going to the Gym Again!“, after being away from any sort of gymnastics training for over 10 years (am I really that old?!), I decided to stick with something that I was familiar with.

I didn’t think it was such a bad strategy as we all know that when you have been away from physical activity for some time, it’s always best to start slowly.

After noticing that some skills were coming back more quickly than expected, my coach pulled me aside last week and asked me “What do you want to get out of this?”.  I quickly responded with a blank stare and a shrug of my shoulders.

I was just having fun jumping around.  Why’d he have to make it all serious by asking me this question?!

However, it did make me stop and think for a while.  It made me think that this is a question that I, and perhaps many other people, tend not to ask ourselves.  Whether it’s a matter of avoiding the question or simply not realising the importance of such a question is a topic for another discussion however.

This simple question reminded me that we often participate in activities or do things with no clear picture of what we want to get out of it.  Perhaps we have been thrown into certain situations as a result of circumstances that are beyond our control.  We do things because we may feel obligated to do them.  Or we may do things because we think it’s “just for fun”.

Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing things just for the fun of it.

But then again, there is no situation in which this question does not apply.   Never forget that by asking yourself this simple question and setting some simple goals, something fun or unexpected can very quickly become something accomplished.