Exploring Success

I’ll own it. I focused on the win.

I wanted to:

• Get the gold

• Be called onto the stage at conventions

• Be accepted in prestigious programs

• Achieve honors

• Get the job

For years of my dance training and career, those moments were the benchmarks of my success. They were the markers that I was doing the right things and was on the right path for success. I wanted to be recognized by dance professionals, my teachers, and my parents for working hard and performing well. I had built my framework of success on a rocky foundation of achievement, other people’s opinions, and social expectations.

We do this as a community and as a culture. We value results. We praise achievement. We reward high performers.  Which is not to say we can’t celebrate a win (because it is fun to win and accomplish something big and awesome) but we forget what truly brought us to the win – the consistency, resiliency, process, and teamwork required to produce great things.

Why Defining Success Enhances Performance

When I ask the dancers who they think is “successful," most of them will offer a celebrity or someone who has made an impact on a social media platform. They are bombarded with messages that other people have the magic formula of success – that there is a type of fame, money, body, school, or title that will guarantee their success.

It was inevitable that when I transitioned out of competitive dance, my definitions of success and self-worth were rocked. Between my need to achieve and need to please, I had only used other people’s paths and opinions as my options. So, here is our chance to encourage dancers to challenge their social media accounts, create their own ideals, and choose schools, jobs, and companies they are curious and excited about.

Defining Success:

• Establishes a dancer’s constructs around success

• Helps create a personal vision

• Connects a dancer to why they are pursuing their path

• Clarifies internal vs external validation

• Offers the opportunity to find alternative measurements of success

Thank you Lauren Ritchie for this fantastic blog post