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I once visited a website claiming how its DVD collection could have you dancing Salsa in
less than 2 hours painlessly and effortlessly and have partners “begging and pleading” to
dance with you.
Less than 2 hours??? Painless??? No effort??? Unfortunately, there is a general
misconception in our society about how to get what we really want. This misconception
has a name: Instant Gratification. These days we can have the body of a bodybuilder in
30 days, or cook a 25-pound turkey in 5 minutes, or lose all the weight we want in 10
days by eating pork chops…
I’m here to tell you that to become an outstanding salsa dancer, it’s neither easy, quick or
painless. As a matter of fact, to get REALLY good at ANY endeavor in life, you HAVE to go
through some sort of discomfort. I can still remember the time I was dancing with this
lady and elbowed her right on the nose (needless to say, I didn’t go back to that club for
months). Overcoming challenges makes us grow… And what bigger challenge to
overcome than the humiliation of seeing a dance partner covering her nose in
excruciating pain while EVERYONE is looking at you thinking what an idiot you are.
Why am I able to share this story with you so lightly? Because I discovered that the prize
of committing to something and following through despite all the disappointments is so
much greater than I had imagined... And you will feel the same way once you commit
and push through all your perceived obstacles…
The problem is, most people just don't have the commitment to see something through to
the end, especially when faced with obstacles and disappointments. For some reason
(perhaps because of our own internal programming), we tend to guard our ego as if it was
a treasure. Why are we so afraid of screwing up once in a while? We let our pain of feeling
embarrassed get in the way of our dream of becoming great Salsa dancers.
There’s this lady I dance with frequently. She’s a beginner, and, in my opinion, needs a
LOT of practice. But I love dancing with her. Why? Because she doesn’t care what
everyone else thinks about her. She doesn’t let the thought of embarrassment get in the
way of her desire to become a great Salsa dancer. She’s committed to her dancing and
focused on how to improve, period.
Was Eddie Torres born an outstanding dancer? How about Griselle Ponce, Felipe Polanco
or Super Mario? No. They MADE themselves outstanding dancers. The problem is that we
only get to see the finished product. Behind every successful man or woman there are
countless stories of failures and disappointments. Of course some people are more
talented naturally, but Salsa dancing is a skill, just like learning how to master public
speaking, baseball or even playing video games.
Most of us are far from being the outstanding dancers we want to become. Yes, there will
be more failures as we improve, but the taste of victory will be even sweeter than the one
we enjoy today…
And about my “victim-of-an-elbow-to-the-nose”? We have danced after our little
incident. However, I can’t quite figure out why she ducks every time I spin….
Happy Dancing!!!