No, I’m not making up words – I’ve borrowed someone else’s word. But what a good one! It really sums up the mindset that’s needed for dance and exercise.
Nobody is perfect.
Read that again. Nobody is perfect. We all have our flaws – and these can be in our personality or in our body movement. Being a perfectionist can be a flaw, in the same way as not being able to hold a plank position. But we need to embrace our flawsomeness if we are going to become better, healthier human beings. We are awesome despite, or maybe because of, our shortcomings.
There is absolutely no point in mentally beating ourselves up if we can’t balance on one leg for 30 seconds. Being unable to do a push up is not an insurmountable problem. And by embracing our flawsomeness I don’t mean to give anyone a ‘get out’ clause. It’s not an excuse for not doing something. What I mean is we have to accept where we are at: so you can’t balance on one leg for 30 seconds, but can you do 10 seconds before you have to put the other foot down? Maybe tomorrow you can do 12 seconds, and the following day 15.
Just because the class instructor has tied themselves up into something approaching a human pretzel doesn’t mean you’ve failed by not being able to follow them. Embrace your flawsomeness.
As an instructor, I accept and acknowledge my flaws. All my students know I can’t count, and sometimes I can’t get my words out right. I’m still working on my flexibility and core strength. But I also know, when I attend classes as a student, how frustrating it can be when you can’t do something. I used to have a real issue with press ups, and I currently loath burpees of any description. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s okay. I have to accept where I am, and know that next time I’ll be able to do a little better. I don’t have to like not being able to do something, but I do have to accept that change takes time. I also have to acknowledge that giving up won’t change anything.
So next time you are faced with that seemingly impossible exercise, don’t get frustrated or annoyed (the tension will only make things worse). It’s time to breathe, do what you can, and accept that this is just a stepping stone on the road from flawsome to awesome.