Compare yourself... to yourself and recognize your own achievements!
A revealing year-end review
As part of my end-of-year reflections, I've put together a brief summary of what my partner and I have accomplished through our dance school during 2024.
While going through our videos to prepare this recap, I came across our first demos* together, which date back to late 2022, when we had just launched our Brazilian zouk school.
Recognizing progress: a proud moment
Watching these videos really made me realize how much progress we've made over the past few years.
All those hours of practice, study, and classes… all the nuances we’ve discovered and incorporated into our dancing—slowly but surely, through the many hours we’ve accumulated week after week—and which now make our dancing so much more fluid and enjoyable… I could now see them clearly right before my eyes!
You'll also find a few clips from our 2022 and 2024 demos in this short video montage. That way, you can see for yourself!
Comparing yourself to others or to yourself?
The importance of taking a step back
It's often easy to compare ourselves to others, to aspire to dance like them, or to get discouraged when we feel like we're regressing, when we have to go back to the basics, or when progress seems slow and hard to see.
Sometimes it's worth taking a step back and remembering where we started, what we've accomplished since then, and what we've been through—so we can better appreciate where we are today.
Take a step back to move forward
And sometimes, we need to take a step back in order to move forward more effectively. In other words, the little detours we take—which sometimes seem like a waste of time—are often blessings in disguise!
To each our own path, to each our own progress
A unique perspective for everyone
We all have our own baggage of experiences that shapes our perception and reaction to the events we experience.
So, what matters isn't so much how we compare ourselves to others, but rather how we compare ourselves to ourselves! What counts is our own progress!
Endless progress
When we stop wanting to learn, we essentially block our ability to evolve, grow, and move forward on our life’s journey! We can always choose to learn from our experiences, with the goal of moving forward and improving ourselves!
I like to think of myself as an eternal student of life!
Your visible and invisible achievements
What makes you proud?
What are you most proud of in recent years?
When I talk about achievements, they can be visible (like my example with dance) but also invisible (such as changes in how we manage our emotions, thoughts, stress, mindset, etc.)!
Often, visible and invisible achievements go hand in hand—as is the case for me with dance!
Need a helping hand?
Do you have trouble seeing your accomplishments? Do you feel like you’re stuck in a rut?
I invite you to consider one-on-one coaching, where I can help you become aware of your accomplishments as well as the factors that may currently be holding you back.
Give it a try, and you'll discover the full power of co-creation through coaching!
* The term "demo" here refers to the improvised dances we perform at the end of a workshop to illustrate different ways of incorporating the movements we learned in class.
