Practice Makes… Joy!
If you listen to pop radio, you’ve probably heard “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. I was listening to the song on my computer the other day on YouTube, and I started to watch the video. Yes, that’s musician Ed Sheeran dancing in the video – and doing an impressive job of it. (See and/or listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA)
So I watched the brief making-of-the-video video, and he said that learning that dance was the hardest thing he’d ever done and he never wanted to quit anything so much. And now that he knows how to dance, it’s the most fun thing he’s ever done. If Ed had given up, he would have never realized the joy of dancing.
Ed in the unglamorous learning stage
A lot of what people call failure is actually just giving up too soon. I work with clients towards their goals every day, and it’s a constant, conscious effort to ensure that they stay on track and are kind to themselves. We are all learners at life, yet somehow we think we shouldn’t make mistakes and that we should get everything right on our first try.
But life takes practice. We’re just human beings who deserve our own love, forgiveness, acceptance and pep talks. Just as you’d expect a child learning to ride a bike to take a few spills, we’ll do the same as adults as we learn new things and grow into bigger, more expansive lives.
Have you been avoiding anything that’s going to take some practice – and early mistakes? What’s so difficult that you are tempted to give up? What’s the joy waiting on the other side of that learning and hard work?
Dance on!