Commitment, Success and Avoiding Burnout

This morning, as I wrote in my journal and prepared for ninth day of General Skills online, I started thinking about expectations. Specifically, the idea that we don’t often associate our level of commitment with our level of expectation.

It’s like the cartoon of someone meditating and getting frustrated after a few minutes because they don’t feel enlightened yet.

I think technology has been an amazing tool that has enhanced our lives a million-fold, but at the same time, the more “instant” the world becomes, the more we disconnect from the time things actually take to come to fruition.

For instancce, getting frustrated after three days of eating more veggies because you don’t feel healthier, being upset that you don’t quite have that dance step the way you want it even though you’ve only been dancing for a year (or five) and only practice once a week in class. Graduating college and getting a great job, but being mad in a year because you should have had a promotion or been making six figures by now.

We are seriously missing the mark on the length of commitment it takes to achieve most things in life.
It’s especially harder when we are passionate about the topic. We are so motivated and pumped to do the thing that we put in 110% of our effort into, but burnout comes quickly and before we know it, our level of energy wanes, but our desire for the outcome is still prevalent. This leads to frustration or even depression.

So what’s the solution?

If we want the commitment to last, to keep that passion and excitement going long enough to achieve the goals then we MUST focus on enjoying the actual process. I know, I know…you’ve heard this before.

But I wanted to give you the number one tip that has helped me stay committed to my goals:

Find your positive WHY – Ask yourself, why do I really want xyz. If your goal is based on fear or aversion to something (for instance, fear of looking bad if you don’t do the thing) then you are making it SO much harder on yourself. Instead, try to find a WHY that has a more positive approach, this way you are more likely to enjoy the process.

For dancers, this means perhaps shifting your why on “perfecting your taxeem” from:
“I want to get this right because I don’t want to look like I’m not doing it well or I’m afraid I’ll stand out from other dancers if I’m doing it differently”

To:
“I want to learn better body awareness so I can really feel the technique and become a better dancer”

This mindset shift will change everything!

What are some of your goals, dance or otherwise, that you could shift to a more positive WHY?