I danced in the shower this morning to Bailando by Enrique Iglesias. Don’t laugh, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And this was at 4:30 AM mind you. Now let’s be clear, I’m not a good dancer. And what’s funny is that I had the nerve to be on dance team in high school. Even my parents were like, “are you sure you want to try out for the dance team?”. Yes! I really, really wanted it. So even though I knew I wasn’t a good dancer, I tried out for the team anyway. I practiced and practiced and did that routine for what felt like hundreds of times before the final tryout. And I actually made the team!

So maybe you’re a fabulous dancer and can’t relate to my dance team story, but I bet there is something you really, really want right now and you aren’t even trying to get it. You are letting fear, your own self-doubt, or what someone else thinks of your ability prevent you from even trying to pursue your dreams or the life you really want. You sit back and watch other people achieve their dreams silently envying them and wondering why it’s not happening for you.

It’s not happening for you because you’re too scared to pursue it!

See fear is a funny thing. You might not even notice it, but it’s completely controlling your life. Fear of what other people will think or say, fear of not being any good, fear of uncertainty and failure. What if I didn’t try out for dance team? I would have always lived with the regret of not knowing what the outcome would have been. I wouldn’t have created lifelong friendships, I wouldn’t have had the amazing feelings you get from live performances, and I wouldn’t have taught myself to stretch outside my comfort zone.

Instead, I would have programmed my mind to stay small, comfortable, and safe.

So you might be thinking “it’s just dance team, Cori.” And it’s not really. It’s what dance team represents.

I felt the fear and did it anyway!

I also did something else that’s critically important. I practiced my you know what off to make sure I was prepared. Remember I knew I wasn’t a good dancer. But I also knew that if I practiced enough I could be just as good as the person with natural ability. We often look at the success of others without thinking about what they had to do to get there. We think they “woke up like this”, not realizing there’s a lot of work in between from where you start to where you finish.

Are you ready to practice?

 What’s your dance team?  What’s the thing you’re either not sure of or don’t think you’re good at, but yet you really want to do it? It’s within your reach, but you might have to put in some work. You might have to practice. Are you willing to do that to create a life you love?

So go ahead… let go of that fear and self-doubt and dance in the shower!

Talk soon,