Sunday Perfection Problem
Dancers are perfectionists. This comes as no surprise. But
sometimes this very trait that makes us push harder, longer and farther can
have a dark side. That’s right. A very dark side.
You know what I mean. It happens when you believe that nothing
you do is good enough, and you start thinking that everything you’ve done, or
will ever do is useless. Scary. I call this train of thought the Pit of Perfectionism.
To stay out of this pit requires one main thing: surrender. Yes, surrender. This is
because perfectionism is all about control – controlling everything you do in
order to win (love, acceptance, accolades, etc.). It is, at its core, about fear (fear of not having the
aforementioned things). Surrender, on the other hand, is the opposite. It is
about accepting where we are right now.
Dancers fear that if they do this, they won’t work hard
enough. But have no fear (see above). I have no doubt that dancers will always
work hard. It’s a part of them. It’s what they think about as they work that is
important. Dancers must forgive themselves and recognize that they are always a work in progress and mistakes
simply mean they have just learned something
new. Life itself is a balance between
work and surrender. Never underestimate the power of surrender.
Relax. Surrender. You may discover that this promotes greater
progress than you imagined.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Motivational Secret #36:
“Relaxing
perfectionism requires surrender.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“We are at our most powerful the moment we
no longer need to be powerful.”
― Eric Micha'el Leventhal
― Eric Micha'el Leventhal
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