Every golfer would like to shoot lower scoring rounds. Every runner desires faster race times. Every poker player wants to win more hands.
Dancers are no different. We would all like to have better technique. We would all like to dance with better quality of movement and musical expressiveness. We would all like our dancing to be as elegant and as emotionally moving as possible.
Dancers want to be able to do the impressive things more easily and the easy things more impressively.
Accept it. We're human, and humans want to be better at whatever they do. It's in our nature.
The Improvement Trap
Here's the danger. Every time we learn a new step or improve some technical aspect of our dancing, we might be satisfied for a short time. But soon, we're going to want to learn or improve something else.
If you make your satisfaction dependent on the nebulous and ever expanding objective of "getting better," your moments of true fulfillment will be few and far between. The chase will be endless.
Accept Happiness
You've worked hard on your dancing for months and probably for years. You're not able to do everything that you would like to do, but you're a whole lot better than you were before. Can you be happy with your dancing as it is right now?
I realize that you would like to improve, and that's okay. Work hard. Dedicate time and energy to the process. But can you wait patiently for those improvements to arrive without being frustrated by slow progress?
Be happy with the tandas that you've danced in the last month. Be happy with the milongas that you've attended. Be happy with the dance partners with whom you have shared the dance floor.
Continue To Improve (If You'd Like To)
You don't need to stop working on your tango. You never need to give up on that long, dear, and passionate struggle. But you might want to stop associating improvement with contentment.
As you improve, enjoy every small success. But enjoy as well the days and weeks and months when it seems that you aren't making any progress at all. The fruits of your labors are on their way. You just have to wait for them. In the meantime, you're dancing the Argentine tango, for goodness' sake! There's nothing wrong with that!
Enjoy!
Enjoy seeing and speaking with the dancers that you have come to know, the people who have learned and grown along side you. Enjoy time in the arms of valued partners. Enjoy making someone else smile with your tango.
Enjoy time with your non-tango friends. Enjoy non-tango activities - exercise, reading, working, dining, loving, meditating, helping others. Enjoy your family.
Enjoy everything about your life. Enjoy what's important in life.
When You're Ready
The tango isn't going to run away. If you're working on it, improvement is all but assured. But you can't control when that improvement will show up. Stop waiting for it. Let it show up when it's ready. When you're ready.
In the meantime, enjoy, enjoy, and enjoy some more. You only have one life. Don't waste it stressing out over whether your boleos are sharp enough.
¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!
Daniel
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