Maybe you totally blacked out and had no idea what happened.
Whether it was on your bucket list, your wedding to-do list, or part of an elaborate comeback story as you re-entered the social scene... However it happened, congratulations on being a ballroom dancer.
For the record, there are many people on the outskirts, constantly examining and re-examining the details of taking dance lessons, but never with enough courage to do what you have done.
So now that we have firmly established how cool and smart you are, let's stick with that theme as we set goals for your dancing.
5 Questions to Help You Refocus Your Ballroom Dancing Goals
1. "What has improved about me since I first started dancing?"
It's easy to get caught up in the present-tense dance problems, and let them cloud your vision to the positives surrounding your dance hobby. So it's important that you aren't starting this new goal setting task with clouded vision.
By establishing a baseline of how far you've come will help you to avoid setting goals that revolve around fixing things in the here and now, rather than truly establishing where you want to go, and grow, next.
Bottom Line: Before you can aim for the stars, your ballroom dancing goals need a baseline.
2. "What is fueling my goal to get better?"
We can all have complex story lines. Maybe your ballroom dance journey began as a revenge story to get back at someone, or it could have started as an obligation you weren't looking forward to that you started to enjoy.
Whatever your external reason is, it needs to have an internal element for it to sustain itself. You see, events you're preparing for, levels you want to achieve, or people you want to impress are very short lived.
You, on the other hand, will always be the constant.
Bottom Line: Make Self-Improvement part of every ballroom dancing goal
3. "What has been stopping me?"
If you read "Keep Your Dance Lessons a Secret from These 5 People" you'd know that there are some voices that you may need to tune out. The most dangerous one, of course, is your own.
In some cases, the goal you believe is doomed to fail may have some alternatives, or a step by step process that only a professional can point out for you. In other cases, we can get caught up in comparison, speculation, or even conspiracy theories on why we aren't successful thus far.
When in doubt, communicate. Talking through your goals, and what you believe to be stopping you from achieving them, is a great way to gain a better perspective, make a few edits, and move forward on the right path.
Bottom Line: Sharing your vision and your challenges gives the full picture to the people that can help.
4. Will This Goal Keep Me Comfortable?
We are designed for self-preservation, and sometimes our goal setting reflects that. Think of how many situps you may do on your own versus with a personal trainer. Your ballroom dance goal should make you stretch past your comfort zone, must require effort, and could make that status quo loving voice in your head a little uncomfortable.
Bottom Line: Safe goals don't require a lot of extra effort... so don't set them.
5. Does This Goal Have a Process?
One of the biggest challenges to goal setting, whether it's ballroom dancing or Pokemon Go, is taking a step-by-step process mindset. Without a process, a goal can be short-sighted, limited to a specific end result, and will typically result in frustration.
It's far easier to say "I want to be Gold" or "I want to be the next champion" or "I want rock hard abs" than it is to grind your way through a the process to getting there.
Bottom Line: A goal without a process is like a comeback story without a struggle. It's empty.
Final Thought
You can call them Dance Resolutions, you can call it your mission objectives, but however you decide to refer to your dance goals - they are vital to your dance hobby.
As much fun as learning to dance is, setting goals it what keeps your dance program interesting, your status quo challenged, and your success an achievement both on and off the dance floor.
So enlist your teachers, pull out your chart, a pen, tablet, or hire a court reporter, and start defining where you've been, how far you've come, and where you want to go next.
Even if it stretches you a little.
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