It’s All About How You Do It!

This can hold true for many things in life, but definitely when pursuing a physical activity such as dance and fitness.

Often, dance students feel as though they tried so hard, yet didn’t get the accolades or success they were expecting for their efforts. Also, when unsuccessful, we can feel overwhelmed and or lose interest, but attribute it to being too easy. This is often a subconsciously reaction that allows us to justify what we are not understanding, or truly thinking it is too easy because we are missing the big picture of what is needed for success.

It’s in the Details

Quite often, we forget to pay attention to the details that give us the true success we are hoping for. It is easy to be distracted and overlook the details in mastering the task at hand, or the skill we are trying to attain. Understanding the details will in turn bring us self-esteem and confidence when we truly execute the skill correctly. For instance, was the instructor (when demonstrating), bending forward, bending their knees, or keeping their weight over the balls of the feet etc. Sometimes we are so busy looking at the teachers’ feet we forget to look at their upper body, or the placement of their arms. The key to success might be eluding us due to missing the details.

Trying Hard

It is not just in the trying and the effort, but in the mental process of accessing that helps us to accomplish the training at hand. I often tell my students “You can try really hard all day long to push the door closed to get out of the room, but you will not succeed until you pull it open”. Sometimes trying hard means we get good at doing it wrong. A good idea is to take a moment to step back and look at the exercise/movement from a different perspective. This helps us to recognize what we were missing in the execution. Just trying hard without proper execution will likely lead to frustration. But redirecting that energy and enthusiasm in a more thoughtful methodical manner, diagnosing how it feels, or the timing of the exercise, then using that energy and enthusiasm correctly, can bring about the success we are looking to accomplish.

Don’t Give Up

Some say the definition of crazy is when we continue to do the same thing over and over expecting a different result. So, slowing down to digest the corrections, and taking a look at the task at hand from a different perspective can often bring us closer to our sense of accomplishment.

How You Do It, Builds Self-esteem and Confidence

Whether we are making a bed, doing homework, going to work, or dancing, The confidence is created from the success achieved. When we are successful in creating or accomplishing something whether it be beautiful, organized, clean, or even making a difference, or touching someone in a positive way, we well up with a sense of pride which in turn feeds our self-worth. Understanding “how” by using our deductive reasoning skills, listening, applying corrections, and not giving up the minute we are not successful, will bring about the best results and feed our confidence.

So, when you are feeling frustrated, distracted, or overwhelmed by life, dance, fitness, and all the challenges and new tasks in front of us, try taking a step back, look at the details, take a deep breath and try pulling the door open!