by Josh Jones (
website)
I keep a journal where I write notes and thoughts most every day, and where I write goals and plans for achieving them. I have a ten-step process that I use when creating a new goal, and I write the process down in detail in my journal. My dance goals are recorded there, and I have not yet failed in reaching any of them. The goal can be daily, like having a good practice today or teaching well and helping students succeed, or it can be a much more long-term goal. The hardest step is to get started; but if you have a mindset of doing things right now, this very minute, without waiting, then you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.
I have a high level of confidence, which is a necessary component of dancing at my peak. How we view ourselves in our own mind to a large degree determines the actions we take. In psychology this is called the self-concept. If you are dancing something and do it poorly and then say to yourself mentally or verbally "there I go again, I'm always messing this up, I will never get this!" then you have essentially reaffirmed to yourself that you'll have a hard time with this, and that you always mess up. It's little surprise, then, that you will continue to live up to that low expectation of yourself.
So I expect only the best from myself, my students, and from everyone. When we have high expectations of ourselves, and we truly expect and believe without a doubt that we will do our best, whether it be while dancing, doing business with others, dealing with spouses and kids, or anything else, then we begin to develop a pattern of reaching our expectations and always expecting the very best from ourselves. This does not mean that I put pressure on myself to achieve a particular placement; I expect my own personal best.
I've essentially given myself permission to be human and make mistakes, but I then live up to my high expectations of myself by doing my best to improve, whether personally or on my dancing. Being positive has enabled me to enjoy the journey of dancing, and to be able to be okay with mistakes, because working on them enables me to grow!
I stay positive by not exposing myself to negativity on the radio or television. In my car I listen to self-improvement audio, and I read self-improvement books on the go and at home. I work on myself, and I'm committed to my own development as a human being. I find that this enables me to give to others more freely and pleasantly; so instead of trying to change the world, I change myself, and that helps to change the world. I have a view that the world is a great place to live, and for me it certainly is, but this is solely due to my paradigm. I live in the same world that everyone else does, I simply choose to focus on the good in the world, and others who focus on the bad tend to be less happy.
The effect on my dancing is that I'm usually positive, and I don't sweat the mistakes; I just tackle them the same way I tackle my own personal shortcomings. I've essentially given myself permission to be human and make mistakes, but I then live up to my high expectations of myself by doing my best to improve, whether personally or on my dancing. Being positive has enabled me to enjoy the journey of dancing, and to be able to be okay with mistakes, because working on them enables me to grow!
I visualize myself being a great dancer, and then do my best to dance into that. I get my coaching, take extensive notes the same day, and then work on my notes every single day until the next coaching. Then, as they say, wash, rinse, and repeat. It works, and it's that easy. Work hard, work smart, and create your life and your dancing the way you want it to be!
