“Toxic Ballet World“ from a ballet dancer’s perspective

“The ballet world is so toxic” “Why are people so judgemental?” “the music was too fast/slow” “the floor was too sticky/slippery” I get it. It’s much easier to blame the world for your problems than to look at yourself and say: “Maybe I’m the problem” It doesn’t hurt as much yes. You might even feel good about it and bond with a friend about it. But remember every time you’re talking shit (myself included) You’re adding to this “toxic ballet world” (that you’re telling me you don’t like.) Maybe the floor WAS too slippery, or maybe the conductor DID play the music too fast. I know…. It’s not fun. But after you’ve done the actionable steps (What you have control over) What’s the point in complaining more? When I have a difficult situation, (let’s use the slippery floor example) I just think of it as playing life on a harder difficulty (I played a lot of video games as a teenager) So imagine you easy, normal hard as options for a video game. Now ask yourself? Can I dance well in these difficult conditions? If you can, good. You just completed your ballet class on hard difficulty 😂 (I’m not saying intentionally create suboptimal conditions) But challenge yourself. Let me challenge you now actually. If you can handle it. For the next 24 hours, you will not bitch and complain about anything to anyone. Myself included. Nothing. If you realise you have nothing else to talk about with your friends, why not try complimenting them instead? Like “btw that balance at the end was so good”, “you were so musical” “You have such nice feet” I guarantee they won’t be upset with you for changing your conversation from complaining to complimenting 💪🏻 A few of these concepts are in the books “how to win friends and influence people” and “7 Habits of highly effective people” If you’d like to see my recommended reading list for ballet dancers then check my blog (link in bio) - Again if you’re a soldier and got to the end drop an emoji in the comments ❤️👊🏼 Ps share this post with a friend who complains and then do this challenge with them :)