FINDING BALANCE FOR A SUSTAINED STATE OF WELLBEING

Making the conscious choice of actively seeking to maintain but also further develop my sense of wellbeing has led me to become a more balanced person. This outcome has been such a beneficial experience which is why I decided to reflect upon it.

Entering my first year of high school has been a positive but also overwhelming experience due to the increase in workload and overall tasks which have to be completed. I had to make choices regarding my own well being in order to get the most out of the year. I have decided to reflect upon how my choices in involvement at school has helped me maintain physical, emotional and even social well being.

When I decided 3 years ago to join the Gymnastics team, it entirely changed my view on myself as an athlete and how I see my body. I was more aware of the potential I had and the skills I was able to do. However, competing as an active gymnast required intense training, taking up most of my week. This is why I decided that at the start of Year 10, I had to quit - but only at school. I was driven to continue training at home in order to maintain the physical state I was in. However, I noticed that it wouldn’t be enough to do these skills at home; I lacked in ambition as there was no one I was competing with, pushing me to want to develop.

As a side note, another reason why I decided to quit the team was because although I loved the sport itself, I do not enjoy working in competitive environments as they put a lot of stress on me. The sport has certain skill requirements, and did not leave room for self expression. This is where I decided to not only join a different sport, I was also required to step out of my comfort zone: I joined dance. Dance is a sport which I was also familiar with, having done it in the past, but it was never something I saw as more than a hobby. Dance was the ultimate way to develop the skills I already had, I was also able to maintain fit and do something I enjoy. The first skill which I learned here is challenging myself to trying something new and finding alternatives to something which you might not enjoy so much. Swapping gymnastics for dance was the best decisions as dance even combines some elements of gymnastics, allowing me to express myself more freely. This has direct impacts on my emotional health; I feel happy with the choice and am planning on continuing the sport in the future also. It has also encouraged me to maintain physical health and work on my skill. I have also learned to interact with people which are outside of my age group, finding friends within my team. A skill I learned which is crucial for later life also is making choices for one’s own well-being even if they may be hard. Quitting gymnastics was a choice I thought about for months, and although I wanted to join again, I realised that it did not benefit my emotional health: I felt exhausted and at times unaccomplished. It was a hard decision yet a decision for the better, as I got to develop my passion for dance.

Being a dancer requires strength and flexibility. This is what I worked on at home, as my schedule for dance is a lot less busy than gymnastics, I must work on it daily in order to improve. I have noticed that continuing a workout at home has made me feel more achieved at the end of the day and developed my skill. On days I do not work out, my body feels a lot more tense and less flexible. I generally feel as though I have not worked to the extent which I could have. This is why I have a workout plan which I pursue on the days on which I do not have dance and try to do so on a daily basis. I have also recently aimed help family and friends maintain their wellbeing; I have done this by creating custom workout plans for them which helps us keep active and fit.

Please see the images below as to some of the skills which I practice as evidence of my practice of physical and ultimately emotional health:

Joining dance has also lead to an improvement in my social well-being, as now I have more time for family and friends. Although I am also involved in a few other ECA’s, I have been able to spent time doing other things apart from sports, such as a joining service groups and doing art. Because of dance, I have found multiple ways to express myself, found a balance between school and hobbies, maintained physical health but also work on my social and emotional well-being. I have learned that in order to be a more balanced person, you must step out of your comfort zone even if it means giving up one thing for another. Having made this choice was definitely a choice which, in the long and short term, has benefitted me and my well being.

I have learned that in order to maintain a state of wellness, I must find equilibrium between things I enjoy and school, an unbalance causes a decrease in emotional health which also affects how feel about completing physical activity and might even cause lack in social activity (if I am too busy doing work). Therefore, I am aiming to continue joining ECA’s and working out at home to benefit various aspects of well-being.

Hannah