Teachers spend their working lives constantly trying to motivate and uplift their students and yet very often they lose sight of what direction they would like to go in their lives. From the moment we get up in the morning to the end of the last class that we teach in the day we are planning and doing whatever we can to bring out the best in each and every child that we teach. This is clearly a good thing but what sometimes occurs is that we get so wrapped up in where we are that we find it impossible to see to the future. It is so easy to get into a rut, things are easy and predictable and life meanders along. You know how it is, you just hope for some good luck to pass your way; you play it safe and hope that it all just keeps going well. Sometimes we can become victims where we find it convenient to blame everyone around us for our lack of success and yet if we only stopped putting off what can be done today and get moving by choosing positive actions and by getting ourselves to go in a new direction we would be able to have a much happier and brighter future.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a pioneer among women of her generation and I really like this quote of hers, "One's philosophy is not best expressed in words, it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility."
Making the right choices in any part of our lives is the one thing that is going to determine whether we are a success in what we do and in our relationships both personally or professionally, or whether we just go through life wishing and hoping that things will change and take an upward swing without being willing to do anything about it. Teachers of all kinds spend a good part of their lives giving 100% if not more of their knowledge and life skills to their students, it is easy to become drained and cynical, it takes courage and determination to want to take a step further up the ladder but the rewards are huge and well worth the trouble!
Although we are constantly in a learning environment it is easy to forget that we too have to keep learning in order to give our students the best possible help that we can. It is also easy not to practice what we preach and the reality is that we are often over extended and exhausted and teaching the same type of class that we have taught for the last few weeks seems the easiest way out, or the same barre or warm up that we have done for the past year without ever changing a thing. Planning even one exercise or step that is new will stimulate your students to learn but what about you? What are you doing to help yourself grow and flourish? Sometimes just making one small change in our daily habits can get the ball rolling. Maybe you have been meaning to drop a few pounds and the goal is always "next Monday" to get it going. Does that sound familiar? Or perhaps it is putting aside time to read and learn something we didn't know and then putting in to practice even one of the things that we have learned.
Fear can sometimes have a very negative impact on us because it causes us to stop experimenting and stop moving in a new direction. I don't think that there is a human being alive who does not have fears but it is the way we deal with those fears that is going to be the determining factor in our personal and professional growth. Every time that I have made a bold move that was completely out of my comfort zone I have felt fear but what kept me going is my belief that I really was here on this earth for a reason and without taking any risks my chances of progressing were slim. That doesn't make the feeling of fear any less but it keeps my mind constantly looking ahead.
In these challenging times there are a multitude of reasons to make us feel insecure and worried but my advice is to constantly press forward and know that all of your experiences both as a teacher and as an individual will help you to reach your goals. There are many children to teach dance to and there are many schools or studios that need well qualified, highly motivated teachers and if you keep progressing you will always be in demand.
Make this the year that you choose to find ways to keep learning.
Make this the year you choose to do at least one of the things you have been putting off doing.
Make this the year you choose to seize any opportunity that will further your growth.
Make this the year you choose to take action!
