I used to be a wallflower. It was not fun.
When I was a youth, I wanted to dance. But I was afraid to put myself out there on the dance floor.
I told myself, “Dancing is not fun. Dancing is not for me. Dancing is silly. Dancing is overrated. I do not want to dance.”
It Was All Lies.
I wanted to be out there and to enjoy it. But I did not know how.
Not yet. I had to learn that part.
I was bored and blaming the whole world and everybody in it for being boring.
My God That Was Tedious
Boredom kills every moment.
But thankfully, I got lucky. I somehow came across a very simple idea that changed everything.
“There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.” — G.K. Chesterton, Heretics
Read Heretics by G.K. Chesterton Online at Scribd
Ouch.
That quote smacked my teenage angst right in the face.
I finally realized that I alone was the cause of my boredom.
Not the world. Not other people.
It took me a while, but eventually, this realization started playing itself out in my life. I began to take small steps towards the things that I wanted to do.
In short, I learned to dance.
But It’s Not Just Dancing
The dance is a metaphor for anything we want to do but are not doing. We make excuses. We blame the world. We stay distracted by shiny objects.
Or worse, we blame our limited selves. We believe we are not good enough. We don’t measure up to what we want to create or be.
So How Do We Learn To Dance?
Bit by bit. Inch by inch.
- Learn a few steps. Just a couple of moves is enough.
- Get out on the dance floor. (You will not die, I promise.)
- Get used to being clumsy for a while and know that the uneasy feeling will eventually go away.
- Get lost in the music.
- Stop caring about what other people might think.
Pretty soon you will be dancing and making up new moves.
It’s Really This Simple.
For example, you can learn to take great photos by simply reaching into your pocket and taking pictures with your mobile phone. Find subjects that you are curious about.
But don’t take just one photo. Take twenty. Then study them. Share them with a safe friend and ask for constructive feedback.
Pretty soon you will be dancing with your photos.
What dance are you wanting to do today?
If you want your work and life to be amazing, you have to get out on that dance floor.
I’ll see you there!
