The point is to be better than everybody else.
You may feel a bit more comfortable in your body than the other dancers, or have a better sense of how to move your body, or use the better technique, or whatever else is “better” than everybody else (according to you).
And you are certainly entitled to a bit of pride for that, but you’ll never be the best dancer in the world if you don’t try to be.
Or if you don’t look like you know what you’re doing. Or if you don’t want to work at it.
Or if you give up on yourself.
To be the best dancer in the world, you need to work on becoming the best dancer you can be.
You have to have fun with it. You need to develop your own style, one that is consistent and distinctive from everyone else.
You need to be patient. All you have is time.
Have a shared goal
We’re still dancing in this world. The point is to dance.
And if there are other dancers around you, then what’s really the point?
Yes, sometimes you can dance in a circle and enjoy the company. And sometimes you can be the leader of the circle and enjoy the company of the other dancers.
And sometimes you can just enjoy yourself and watch everybody else.
But the purpose is to dance. To move your body.
And if you don’t enjoy it, or it isn’t as fun as you thought it would be, then you’re wasting your time.
We often find ourselves in a gym, or a dance class, with other people, and we’re forced to have the same goal.
It’s like being in a small town in the middle of a war: you don’t have any real friends, so you have to hang out with the people you can tolerate.
Or at least, like-minded people.
And sometimes it’s fine. But don’t just do it because you have to.
Don’t do it because you’re stuck at that point in your life where you have to dance with the same people every day.
Because if it isn’t fun for you, you won’t keep it up.
And once you find yourself stuck in that situation, it will be much more difficult to move on.
This is the kind of thing we’re talking about: a shared goal.
In my experience, this kind of shared goal is the most common and difficult obstacle to overcome in a new hobby.
And it is the obstacle that stands in the way of dancing being fun and joyful.
But it’s the reason you should keep dancing: because if you have a shared goal, then it’s much easier to keep doing it.
And if you keep doing it, then you can do something about your shortcomings and mistakes.
And this is why you should write down a goal for yourself, so you can keep it up. So you can stay motivated.
So what is the goal?
- Is it to be a better dancer?
- Is it to be a better dancer by working out?
- Is it to be a better dancer by being in shape?
- Is it to be a better dancer by making new moves?
Whatever it is, make it the best thing in your life that it can be.
Learn the basics
We’ve established that it’s important to have a shared goal.
So you must get the fundamentals. The foundations. The foundations are the “expectations” or “constraints” of the pursuit.
Constraints tell you when to practice. Which days. How long to practice. How much to practice.
Once you have these constraints, it’s easy to keep doing the same thing every day.
And that’s where you’ll find yourself making progress, and where you’ll get the experience that helps you develop.
Once you learn how to dance the basics, then you can set yourself the goal of being a better dancer.
And once you set yourself the goal of being a better dancer, it becomes very easy to do so.
And if you keep on practicing the fundamentals, you’ll go from a beginner to an intermediate dancer to a seasoned dancer.
And when you go to a new class or new scene, you’ll be a dancer on the same level as everyone else.
Set yourself assemblies
You should set yourself assemblies.
Assembly means to prepare and take with you, and it’s not so much a ritual as it is a pattern or an order of activities.
“Setting yourself an assembly” isn’t too much of a struggle for more advanced dancers.
But for beginners and intermediates, it’s more difficult. And this is why you should set yourself assemblies.
That way you can still go out to a club, and dance with other people, but you can be sure that you are in a good place.
You are not only keeping yourself organized, but you are also making sure that you can make the best of it.
If you know you have to be at an assembly that starts in five minutes, you can get yourself a glass of water, brush your teeth, and finish your makeup before leaving.
And then, you can get yourself there on time.
No excuses.
That’s why you should set yourself assemblies.
Of course, all assemblies should be done at least five minutes beforehand.
This way, you will know that if people are waiting for you, you have time to spare.
