Everyone’s heard of FOMO, right? But have you heard of FOTU? And is it holding you back?
“I’ve always wanted to try that, but…” is something we hear a lot here at CirqueScape.
“… but I don’t think I’ll be any good at it”
“… but I’m worried I won’t enjoy it”
“… but I’ll probably feel really out of place”
All of these concerns have FOTU in common… fear of the unknown. Now, we’re not trying to do FOTU down. A little bit of FOTU is a healthy thing. It’s what will keep you out of the honourable mentions of the Darwin awards. But if it’s not kept in check then it can raise its head every time you consider stepping outside your comfort zone.
Here’s the thing… whether it’s silks, trapeze, or aerial hoop you try, everyone can achieve something in their first aerial class. Whether you meet your own expectations depends on how realistic those expectations are. Chances are you’re not going to be rewriting the stars quite like Zac Efron and Zendaya on your very first day. But then you don’t have the magic of CGI to defy physics for you (shhhhhhh… you didn’t hear it from us that some of those moves aren’t real).
Almost nobody walks into an aerial studio for the first time and immediately looks like they were born to fly on a trapeze (there’s always one though, right?!)… but that’s not what it’s about. Aerial and circus arts are about challenging your own abilities and running your own race. There’s always something new to learn. Even if you’ve been doing it for years. Where you start doesn’t matter, there is ALWAYS room for improvement. What would be the point in carrying on if there wasn’t? The most important things are:-
- You’re doing it safely
- You’re enjoying it
- That’s it. That’s what’s important in recreational aerial arts.
If you’re nailing step 1 and step 2, then progress will happen naturally. If you really can’t get the hang of both of those steps, it’s time to stop. Some people like tennis, some people like chess, some people like hanging upside down from swinging metal bars, others don’t. And that’s ok… you do you. Just make sure it’s not FOTU that’s stopping you from trying out something that you might actually really enjoy. The bottom line is, you’re never actually going to KNOW whether you’ll be good at it, or you’ll enjoy it, or if you’ll feel comfortable… unless you get out there and try it. If it turns out you don’t enjoy it then you can just… stop going! But you’ll have gained so much from just giving it a go.
Stepping out of your comfort zone once in a while offers huge benefits for your mental health, so in the run-up to mental health awareness week why not treat yourself to something a bit out of the ordinary? If you want proof of the feel-good factor our classes have then go and have a look at the reviews section of our Facebook page. Or book yourself in for a class and leave your own review… what have you got to lose?! Check out our class schedule and book in here!
Don’t just take our word for it, click the links below to check out a couple of great quick reads on the benefits of overcoming your fears and trying out new stuff… and let us know if this blog post encourages you to try something new… we’d love to hear about it!
HuffPost – A look at the incredible benefits of trying new things