Have you ever found yourself scrolling through Instagram, or falling down a rabbit hole on YouTube, and then ended up feeling anxious, thinking you’d never be good enough as a dancer? Well, you’re not the only one. We can assure you that even the professionals feel like this from time to time. Here’s a list of ways that can help you when your Instagram feeds become too much.  

Remember, progress is an individual thing.

Expecting perfection or overnight success normally only leads to frustration. Your shortcomings, real or imagined, only really matter if you allow them to turn you off your goals. Instead of drowning yourself in unrealistic expectations and destructive comparisons, recall your unique strengths and abilities. Remind yourself of what you have achieved so far. Regular self analysis can be a good thing, you can use it to compare your current self to your previous self. Recording yourself dancing can help you see your own growth. If you then post it online, it can even inspire others to do the same too.

Forget quick fixes

To get better at anything, you will need time, effort, dedication and diligence. There’s no way around it. The overnight success that you witness on that Insta feed would’ve probably taken many years of hard work. If you find that you keep comparing yourself to other dancers, then use the comparison as motivation to improve on what actually matters.

Apply observation

Do not copy other people, apply observation instead. So when watching a video of really good dancers, don’t just watch their performance, but look out for ‘actions’ they make to improve their performance. For example, pinpoint their exact body placement before executing a move – do they bend their knees deeper, do they turn their shoulder ever so slightly? Watch with intention to learn.  

Be realistic

No one has it easy. Not a single dancer out there got anywhere without at least a bit of self doubt. But remember that you’ve come a long way and are making great progress. The dance itself doesn’t get easier, you just get better at it. So be realistic and set up a plan for small goals. Ask advice from your instructors to set up these goals and hold you accountable. You didn’t come this far on your journey to just stop because you feel you’re not as good as someone else. Their life is not yours, you are uniquely you, so just keep at it and you’ll get there!

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