In my last post, I talked about the value of breaking your big, overwhelming goals into bite-sized steps so that you can gradually work towards them and feel a sense of achievement when you reach each milestone along the way.

But what happens when instead of happily making progress toward your goal, you find yourself getting stuck on one step, unable to move forward, doubting yourself, and wanting to quit?

• You planned to get to class early to do a better warm up so you’re more focused in class… BUT, you ended up scrolling through pages and pages of your facebook newsfeed instead
• You are practicing doing 8 fouette turns in a row without travelling everyday… BUT, you’re getting so frustrated with yourself, you end up shouting so much abuse at your reflection in the mirror you feel really crap about yourself and want to give up
• You are working very carefully to get back in shape after an injury… BUT, then you get pneumonia and have to take MORE time off
• You are working really hard on the final turns in your solo… BUT, your director changes the cast and you’re not doing that solo part anymore
• You are doing extra exercises to improve your turnout… BUT, instead, you find your hips getting tighter and tighter and you don’t know what to do now

Sound familiar? It’s easy at this point to just give up and accept a life of mediocrity.

The key to actually achieving your goal is finding a way to get around the road-blocks that will inevitably come up.

You need a detour.

No-one likes a detour. It’s unsettling. It takes longer. You don’t know the way. You feel like you’re going in the wrong direction.

But detours are essential to getting around road-blocks, even if they are annoying. You might feel like you’re going backwards, but often, they are the only way forward.

Some tips for navigating detours:

1) THE PROCRASTINATION DETOUR

When its all too easy to just get distracted and not bother trying, remind yourself of how good you’ll feel about yourself when you actually DO something toward your goal. Plan rewards for yourself. Get a cheer squad.

2) THE OWN-WORST-ENEMY DETOUR

You are the one person you have the most influence over in the whole world. Make it part of your goal to screen your self-talk and start filtering out those negative comments. What could you say to yourself instead that would help boost your confidence? Learn to be your own-best-encourager instead.

3) THE IT’S-OUT-OF-MY-HANDS DETOUR

When something out of your hands (injury, illness etc.) gets in the way of achieving your goal, it’s ok to feel sad about that. But don’t throw in the towel completely. Adjust your goal and find new ways to realize it. You might need to give yourself more time, add in a few extra steps along the way or try some creative and alternative ways of making progress in your current state. But keep your chin up. Be kind to yourself. You’ll find a way.

4) THE DEAD-END DETOUR

You are out of ideas how to move forward – it’s time to ask an expert. Maybe a teacher, a pilates instructor, a counsellor, a dietitian, a more experienced dancer, even an informative website can give you the directions you need to keep moving.

Well, I hope these ideas help you move forward in your goals… Remember, if you hit a road-block on the way to your goal, its doesn’t mean the end of the road. It just means a detour is needed – and you’ll find your way forward.

Let me know how you go in the comments! And if you missed Part 1, check it out here.

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