How figure skating made me a stronger person

Today is a great moment to have a closer look into my biggest passion: figure skating! I had my last competition of this season yesterday and I loved every minute of it! Figure skating is so much more for me than ‘just a sport’. Not only have I learnt so much about the sport itself, I've learnt life lessons at the ice rink.

When I started to skate, I was only a shadow of a person of who I am now. I was insecure about basically everything in life and I never had the courage to try something new. Actually, taking my first figure skating lessons was just an experiment. At the gym I was always focused on how many calories I burned. Yes, I was very dedicated and consistent, but for the wrong reasons and I didn’t enjoy it at all! I hoped figure skating could be a sport I actually would practice because it makes me happy. And luckily, I absolutely loved it!

After a few years of recreational skating, I decided to start doing skating competitions. I think this is where my real journey began. Figure skating is technically one of the hardest sports on earth. The techniques are so refined and difficult…it takes years to learn and refine all the basic jumps and spins. And if you can do all the basics, then there’s the next step: combination spins and double jumps! After doubles, comes triples and among the world top skaters are actually even figure skaters (mainly men) who can land quads: 4 rotations in one jump, it’s like a spin in the air!! WOW!

As you can read, learning new elements in figure skating is a very slow process and when you only focus on the results, figure skating probably could be one of the most frustrating sports on earth. In this case, figure skating really taught me to enjoy the process rather than only focusing on the results. And when you’re able to enjoy the process, the journey becomes so much more fun!

Figure skating also taught me to believe in myself. It’s such a mind game! Let’s take the jumps: before you jump you have to stand on the correct side of the blade, your arms should be in position and your body needs to be in a straight line. Just something as simple as a wrong position of the arms or bad timing an already make you do your jump wrong. So imagine what happens if you think in a split second before you jump: “oh no, I can’t do this”?

This means that you actually HAVE TO believe in yourself. You have to tell yourself over and over again “I can do this, I know I can”. And when you actually start to believe in yourself, you will find that you’re capable of way more than you have ever imagined!

That’s one of the things I love about figure skating. Every time you are on the ice, you are overcoming yourself. These mindset techniques made me grow, not only as a skater, but also as a person. I learned to push myself and motivate myself at the ice rink, but nowadays I’m also using these techniques in my professional and personal life. It’s empowering me in so many aspects of life!

For me, figure skating is the sport that helps me to develop myself and to get out the best of me.  And if you ask me, I think every fitgirl should try to find a sport that fits her. For all the reasons I wrote in this post, I think doing a sport really enriches your life! When you found yourself a sport you like, you will notice it will help you to become stronger, both mentally and physically.

Doing a sport you love will help you to become the best version of yourself!

I hope my story inspires you to take action and release your inner fitgirl. If you want to see more fitspiration, figure skating videos and photos, follow me on Instagram!

XoXo

Lotta