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Reframing Failure in 5 Baby Steps

Philippa
3 June 2014

 

So, you’re in ballet class, pirouettes from the corner. Chasse pas de bourree, prepare…

You almost do a nice clean double, except for an annoying little hop at the end. Slightly frustrated, you grit your teeth and tell yourself “get it right next time” as you chasse pas de bourree and prepare for the next turn.

More of a hop, plus you lose your placement.

You sneak a sideways glance at your teacher to check if they noticed your blunder… Phew, you got away with it.

Chasse pas de bourree, prepare…

This time you fling way off balance and your turn is a total write off.  You walk away with your head down, pretending you twisted your ankle to avoid facing the terrible reality that… (gulp) you failed.

Your teacher calls out a correction to you. You feel even worse. Nod pathetically and hope they won’t make you repeat it.

Inside, you’re frustrated and angry at yourself, “Why can’t I do this? I’m so crap at turning! This is so humiliating! I’m never going to be able to turn!”

Eventually, you become so afraid of stuffing up your turns that you get all tense and edgy even just thinking about doing a pirouette!

The trouble is, you’re looking at failure all the wrong way.

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Confessions of a Recovering Perfectionist

Philippa
5 September 2013

 

For so many years I danced before so many mirrors and really thought that the size of my thighs was the hardest thing to look at.

But all this talk of perfectionism on the blog here is revealing all this stuff in ME that I’d prefer not to look at. Writing about perfectionism is the hardest mirror to look in. Ever.

Here I am trying to help you dancers overcome the darker side of perfectionism, but as I do so, the mirror flips back at me, and I see how I still get trapped, how I still forget to listen to my own advice and trust what I know deep down.

So, as hard to admit as it is, I’m still a perfectionist.

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The Problem with Perfectionism

Philippa
6 August 2013 
Last month’s blog post really struck a chord with a lot of people 
(thanks everyone for all the facebook likes and shares!). I am 
feeling quite humbled, but also compelled to write more…

Because although perfectionism is so pervasive in the dance-world, 
not a lot of dancers are aware of the impact it is having on them, 
or how it can actually prevent them from performing at their best.

So today, let’s delve a little deeper into the dark side of 
perfectionism...

What’s so bad about perfectionism?

At first glance, perfectionism can seem like an amazing thing, and perfectionists, amazing people. And it’s true – there are certainly many wonderful benefits of perfectionism:

  • You work very hard
  • You have very high standards
  • You are reliable
  • You care about what you do
  • You pay attention to the most intricate details
  • You achieve amazing results

What could be so bad about that???

But there is also a down-side to perfectionism that can be really debilitating.

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