Creating Habits to Support Goal Achievement

Confession: I’m a podcast addict. I hate having ‘dead time’ when I’m driving, getting ready to go somewhere, walking around and podcasts are the way I choose to fill that time.

I was listening to one today about habits and while this was information I already knew, it was presented in a different way and now I’m sharing it with you.

We all know to set goals and many of us do this regularly. All of our Beginner II & higher classes have made fall goals for the first quarter of our dance year and they’re awesome! But why will some of us achieve these goals (or any goal) and why will some of us fall short? A quote from the podcast was, “you don’t rise to your goals, you fall to your systems.” If you don’t have the right processes in place you won’t achieve the goal - makes sense, we know this - but I loved the way it was presented.

As it went on to talking about habits (ie the processes you want to implement to achieve your goals), it got me thinking about how our dancers can work on their everyday habits relevant to their own goals. A common one was practicing more (4x/week, 2x/week, etc). We ultimately succumb to our ‘bad’ habits of not making time because we just never start. Instead of worrying about what to practice, whether to do it before dinner or after dinner, if you have the right bandaid to cover your blister, or leaving your notebook at the studio - just start. Just start by putting your shoes on. Maybe that’s all you accomplish for everyday that week.

The starting point feels good and eventually evolves. You get used to starting, figuring out what you need, and get into a routine. THEN once that’s easy you can dive deeper and start working on what you practice, how you practice, when to practice, how long to practice, and so on.

Dancers - think about the fall goal you set for yourself. Now think of 3-5 ways you can help yourself achieve this by taking small but consistent action everyday. For the practice example, maybe you’re going to bring your dance bag to your practice space right when you get home from class so everything you need is already there. You might put your practice clothes in the practice area so you don’t have to go upstairs hunting for clothes to change into after school. And finally, you’ll commit to getting off the bus and putting your dance shoes on right away - even if it’s just for 5 minutes.

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