A long time ago, or may be I should say a really long time ago, my partner and I were competing at a small regional dance competition. We didn't use this three letter acronym at the time since this was before the time of mobile phones, but my partner said: "OMG... I forgot my dance shoes". Now the most untactful question I could ask at a moment likes that was: "Didn't you check before we left the house?". So the tone of our comp was set and we went both pretty tensed on the floor.
Now the point is not that we still won the comp and that the couple whom we borrowed the shoes from came in second. The point is that we've put unnecessary pressure on our dancing by things we had in our own hands: first we were not well prepared, secondly I added useless tension to our communication. This created more competition stress than needed.
You can manage "competition stress" better if you:
- Take care of the things you can control: like being on time, nutrition, sleep, clothes, routine and communication.
- Accept the things you can't control: like the floor, light, temperature, the music and the adjudicators.
You wonder, dancing is not so much different from real life, is it?
Enjoy yours and others' dancing
jeandorff@googlemail.com
facebook.com/jean.dorff
"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~JD
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