‘Finding Happiness in Your Progress’

Are you improving or just repeating the same mistakes? 

In this episode, Gui Prada and I dig into the "stuck" feeling every dancer faces. We explore how to measure progress, the trap of external validation, and the power of asking "Why."

Tracking Your Growth

We often don't realize we’re improving until we look back.

• Self-Records: Use videos and old notes to compare your current dance to six months ago.
• The Specific Challenge: Don’t just "get better." Target specific skills, like dancing to lyrical music or maintaining balance during head movements.
• Habit Tracking: Use a simple journal or app to record how you felt after a social. Was it easy to ask people to dance? Did you feel relaxed? Tracking these small wins shifts your mindset from frustration to accomplishment.

The Power of "Whys" & Awareness

Use the "Five Levels of Why" to find the core of your goals. If you want better head movements, keep asking why until you hit the truth—maybe it’s actually about building confidence.

• Awareness as a Win: Sometimes "getting better" is just realizing that your "balance problem" is actually a timing problem. Awareness is the first step toward a fix.

Deliberate Practice

To break a plateau, you need focus:

• One Thing at a Time: Spend the first hour of a social focusing only on your touch or only on your balance. Let other things break so you can master one.
• Timing is Everything: Rhythm is the first element of human connection. If your timing is off, the connection fails.

TLDR: Treat your dance as a series of drafts, not a final product. Focus on 0.1% improvement daily.

What is one specific skill you're tracking this month? 

Let’s celebrate the small wins below!