"The way you dedicate yourself to the way you think is the definition of attitude, either positive or negative. The Only difference is the choice you make about the way you think." Jeffrey Gitomer "Until you think with a positive attitude you will always be less than you are capable of being.
"Decide today that there is no better time to be happy than right now and that you are master of the way you think and feel!" Steve Sirico
Teaching is hard work! As the season goes along fatigue sets in and so can stagnation if we are not careful. Stagnation can lead to negative thoughts and feelings. This is the main reason why we started Dance Teacher Web. To help give teachers that much needed injection of inspiration. Seminars and workshops are great but their effect does wear off in a month or so. We wanted to create a resource for teacher to have 24 hours a day 7 days a week. As you know, dance isn't the only thing that teacher have to focus on. The other factors that teachers have to deal with are real life issues, even though people think that we walk around just thinking creative thoughts and choreographing routines! Spouse, kids, parents (yes our own!), finances and more!
If you are not careful these issues can and will jade your thought process. It is easy to convince yourselves that your life will be happier after you work for a studio with higher standards, have better students, earn more money, get married or some other "after". This can lead to frustration in your daily life and work and will definitely impact the way you teach. The truth is there is no better time to be happy than right now! If not now, when? Life will always be filled with challenges, barriers, and yes disappointments. It is best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. I have seen, first hand, how thinking negatively can affect even the best teachers. They become unhappy, disenchanted and start to look for the bad instead of focusing on the good. If you are looking for the perfect job, chances are you will never find it.
As the saying goes "The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence!" Your mental attitude is your motivation and your inspiration. Happiness is now. Not a goal or a destination. Happiness is a daily choice. Decide to be happy. I know that you may be thinking that it is easy for someone who has that happy go lucky spirit to be happy and that you have reasons why you are stressed out or dispirited. The key is to understand that there is no one way to happiness and having a positive attitude. It takes a conscious decision on your part probably each and every day to find a way to approach your life with a happy disposition. It has to be inside your head FIRST and every other place second. So treasure every moment that you have and appreciate how lucky you are to be doing something creative that you have a passion for. When you feel down go into the studio by yourself and dance and create until you feel good! Then focus on that good feeling for a day, a week, a month and a year! If you want your students to be positive and passionate than you must project that same attitude to them. As this dance season is winding down make it a point to really focus on all the good things that have happened during the year. Take a look at the progress of your students', see how far they have come. The results are there because of you. Keep that in mind next time you are in a bad mood!
Real life action: Get a book on positive quotes and read one every day. Type them out, print them and post them in the studio so you can share them with your students. When you get stuck and simply don't feel creative find a quote that really inspires you. If you are feeling down close yourself in the studio and dance by yourself until you feel good. Do it for you, not for any other purpose. If something like choreography comes out of it that will be a extra benefit!
"For a long, long time it had seemed to me that I was about to begin real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."
Alfred Souze
