I once visited a website claiming how its DVD collection could have you dancing Salsa in less than 2 hours painlessly and effortlessly and have partners “begging and pleading” to dance with you.
Less than 2 hours??? Painless??? No effort??? Unfortunately, there is a general misconception in our society about how to get what we really want. This misconception has a name: Instant Gratification. These days we can have the body of a bodybuilder in 30 days, or cook a 25-pound turkey in 5 minutes, or lose all the weight we want in 10 days by eating pork chops…
I’m here to tell you that to become an outstanding salsa dancer, it’s neither easy, quick or painless. As a matter of fact, to get REALLY good at ANY endeavor in life, you HAVE to go through some sort of discomfort. I can still remember the time I was dancing with this lady and elbowed her right on the nose (needless to say, I didn’t go back to that club for months). Overcoming challenges makes us grow… And what bigger challenge to overcome than the humiliation of seeing a dance partner covering her nose in excruciating pain while EVERYONE is looking at you thinking what an idiot you are.
Why am I able to share this story with you so lightly? Because I discovered that the prize of committing to something and following through despite all the disappointments is so much greater than I had imagined... And you will feel the same way once you commit and push through all your perceived obstacles…
The problem is, most people just don't have the commitment to see something through to the end, especially when faced with obstacles and disappointments. For some reason (perhaps because of our own internal programming), we tend to guard our ego as if it was a treasure. Why are we so afraid of screwing up once in a while? We let our pain of feeling embarrassed get in the way of our dream of becoming great Salsa dancers.
There’s this lady I dance with frequently. She’s a beginner, and, in my opinion, needs a LOT of practice. But I love dancing with her. Why? Because she doesn’t care what everyone else thinks about her. She doesn’t let the thought of embarrassment get in the way of her desire to become a great Salsa dancer. She’s committed to her dancing and focused on how to improve, period.
Was Eddie Torres born an outstanding dancer? How about Griselle Ponce, Felipe Polanco or Super Mario? No. They MADE themselves outstanding dancers. The problem is that we only get to see the finished product. Behind every successful man or woman there are countless stories of failures and disappointments. Of course some people are more talented naturally, but Salsa dancing is a skill, just like learning how to master public speaking, baseball or even playing video games.
Most of us are far from being the outstanding dancers we want to become. Yes, there will be more failures as we improve, but the taste of victory will be even sweeter than the one we enjoy today…
And about my “victim-of-an-elbow-to-the-nose”? We have danced after our little incident. However, I can’t quite figure out why she ducks every time I spin….
Happy Dancing!!!
By: SalsaFix
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just kidding alex. hope u r doing well.
..will have 2 start all over again