Is frustration stopping you from reaching your goals?

We have all experienced frustration, but is this emotion stopping you from reaching your Irish dancing goals? There will always be times when our dancing journey is frustrating; maybe that is when you want to master a certain move and you’re finding it difficult, or you feel like you are improving but your Feis results are staying the same, or you are frustrated with how slowly you feel like you are improving. 

Many dancers say these things to us at MWM, especially when we talk about practicing at home and we GET IT, we also used to feel this way but…is this stopping you from reaching your Irish dancing goals?

Is frustration stopping you from being curious?

We always talk about the importance of being curious when it comes to improving our Irish dancing. Instead of saying ‘I can’t do this’ and getting angry about it. Let’s start to think ‘I am struggling to do this at the moment…why?’ Instead of getting angry because nerves stand in your way of performing on stage at Feises ask yourself ‘Why is this happening?’ 

When we get frustrated we tend to forget to ask the most important part of the question - the why. We find that we are so overwhelmed with anger that we can engage in negative self-talk, such as thinking of ourselves as an unsuccessful dancer, or telling ourselves that we will never master this move. 

Key lesson - get curious! Figure out WHY you can’t do something or ask our MWM Coaches for help. This is one of the reasons why we have started the monthly MWM Correction Clinic with Meg in the Gold Club. 

Is frustration stopping you from practising as much as you should?

Who has ever been in this situation…

…you’re practising at home and you cannot master something you really want to or your dancing isn’t looking as good in the mirror as you thought it was going to in your head. So you work harder and harder and get angrier and angrier? Sometimes this ends in dancers getting super emotional, sometimes crying and often stopping their practise session. Now, this isn’t necessarily the worst decision in this situation because once we get super frustrated we won’t be able to master the move we originally wanted to until we can think clearer. But, if you’d been able to remain calm, curious, and composed then the practise session would have been able to go on longer and you’d be closer to mastering the step that you wanted to or making improvements to your Irish dancing technique. 

Key lesson: the calmer you stay the better the outcome will be.

Is frustration stopping you from feeling confident?

Being in a frequent state of frustration can often make us not feel super good about ourselves and our confidence as Irish dancers. This is because the feeling of frustration and anger often occurs when we come up against obstacles in our Irish dancing journey and we are unable to deal with it in the most constructive way. Instead of treating ourselves with kindness and self-compassion in the face of these obstacles, frustration means that we tend to let this impact our confidence. Annabelle remembers feeling frustrated at dance class one day because she couldn’t master a pretty simple rhythm section in her set dance. Her teacher asked her why she was getting so frustrated. Annabelle replied ‘I am too old and too experienced to be making these silly mistakes on a pretty simple rhythm section and I am frustrated that my body won’t work with me and I am embarrassed that I couldn’t master it.’ Her teacher told her something that stuck with her when it came to overcoming frustration - you’re human and you’re not always going to be perfect. You may not be able to get it right now, but if you treat yourself with kindness, work hard, ask for help, and believe that one day you will be able to do it, then you will master it soon.   

Key lesson - don’t let frustration impact your confidence. Remember you’re human!

Is frustration keeping you in a lack of progression loop?

After reading this blog you should understand better how much frustration impacts our Irish dancing and Irish dancing improvement. When we stay in this state of frustration each time we practise, we remain in this lack of progression loop as well.  So, if you want to improve your Irish dancing, understand your why, and feel confident about your Irish dancing, then the key lessons are to treat yourself with kindness, remain calm in the face of obstacles, and get curious about ways in which you can better your Irish dancing. Don’t let frustration and anger stand in the way of you reaching your Irish dancing goals.