Things I'm Going to Stop Doing As An Aerialist
Happy New Year!
We’ve circled the sun again and as per our annual ritual, we have all taken a moment or two to reflect on our lives in the past year. For some, it’s the season for goal setting, for optimism, for change and growth. We take inventory of our laborious fruits, successes and also the ruts and frustrations created by our “failures” and hiccups along the way. I wanted to take a moment to jot down some thoughts I had…about what I plan to discontinue as an aerialist into this new year (or at least attempt to). I’m not saying this list is perfect, or complete or even meaningful to anyone that lives outside of my brain. But, I do know that aerialists tend to think very similarly…and maybe there’s a dancer out there that needs to read this in order to make a shift in their life/perspective too. In no particular order, here are a few things I am going to STOP DOING as an aerialist in the new year:
Being Afraid to Suck At Something New
Being new at something (anything) is the theme of life. New experiences give us memories, wisdom, intelligence, strength, humanity… Staying stuck in old ways doesn’t allow new things to flow INTO our lives. I have often felt frustrated by aerial because I get stuck at times. Something works and I hold onto it like Gorilla Glue…even long after it’s stopped working. It’s time to let fear go. I’m not saying I’m going to go out and flip my whole world upside down. But changing up a daily routine, writing a new blog post (heyo!) a music playlist, an apparatus, a costume….small choices make big impacts. It’s one of my goals this year to let some of that fear go and allow new things in, even if I totally suck at them.
2. Measuring My Worth based on My Performance Work (And/Or The Lack Of)
In the entertainment industry, there is an ebb an flow to the volume of work available. Sometimes, there just aren’t very many gigs (we saw a lot of that in the dreaded beer year). Sometimes there are lots of gigs and they don’t align with your schedule so are unfeasible. Sometimes there are gigs and you just aren’t the right dancer for it. In every instance you DON’T get the gig, it’s okay. In this new year…after 11 years of being in the industry, it’s time to let go of the hurt ego when it comes to performance work. Scrolling through social media can make you feel so miserable as an artist when all you see is cool events, shows and gigs that “the others” are getting. It’s just not your time dear. Maybe you’re supposed to be investing in something else.
It doesn’t make you less of an artist or dancer.
Sometimes, you are the person with all the events that everyone is scrolling past thinking “why is it always her?” This is the year that I stop measuring performance work volume as worth. The opportunity to dance and get paid is an incredible one and when the ebb and flow is slow I will try to understand that as a time of rest/recovery or investing in other projects and areas of my life. It will also be a time to sit back and simply be happy for the dancer that IS on the stage and in the spotlight. There is room for us all and there are opportunities aplenty.
3. Not giving my body Proper Recovery
I would love to blame my lack of flexibility training, soft tissue work and general mobility on my pregnancy and subsequent child-rearing...but let’s face it. Long before I birthed a human people into the world my recovery training was seriously beginning to lack. Routines and a busy life sometimes create a sense of complacency that is hard to migrate away from. Recovery took a backseat more often than I wanted and BOOM before you knew it, I had a routine that consisted of practically zero stretching or soft tissue work. These days, I’m doing a lot of weight training and HIIT style workouts and a lot less aerial. My body is strong and feels amazing after having a baby, but also feels very tight some days. I am still nursing at the moment (almost two years in!!) and my upper back and neck are the most hunched over and tight they have ever been in my life. I definitely have some damage to undo and unfortunately, I’m not getting any younger. Thankfully, this is not an overnight process so I don’t have to get discouraged when I wake up tomorrow and I’m still not feeling very limber :). Just kidding. It takes time for a body to become mobile and pliable so I’m patiently staying focused on small recovery activities throughout the week. Even if that looks like rolling around on a mean old fascia ball for 5 or 10 minutes before I have to put the baby down to sleep. Every little bit counts. I’m not going to make some lofty goals or commitments about stretching 5 days a week for an hour, or making sure I get a massage once every two weeks…because that might have been realistic in my life a few years ago (and a reality) but it’s not anymore. Life has changed and now I have to adjust my expectations a little bit to fit in small changes when I can.
4. Believing My value/income/{insert other philosophical life concern here} Is Reliant On My Instagram Engagement
We’ve sort of come full circle here. My number one item on this list was to stop being afraid to suck at something new. That also means being afraid of change. A long time ago, in the wild west of the internet there was no Instagram. There was no Tik Tok or YouTube. It was just you, your PC, dial up internet and html code handbook. Marketing, business building and creating has changed so much and many apps have forced creators to evolve how they create and earn money. You know what…(I’m definitely not the first person to say this) but it’s kind of time for a change. The vast majority of people using social media have not very many positive things to say about it. It’s a space that generally lacks inspiration anymore and is a void where we doom scroll, compare and lose the capacity to REALLY create outside of said app. Is it by design? Who knows. All I know is that I have lost a lot of my drive to create (anything) for many reasons and I would like to get back to creating this year and not worrying about the happenings of an app. I use to post so often on my Instagram and have slowly stepped further and further away from sharing on that platform. I’m not saying I’m going to quit social media altogether, but in this new year, I really want to shift how I’m investing my time and energy. Instead of scrolling for an hour in search of something that I don’t even know I’m looking for…what if instead I come to my blog and write a few words? What if I go and tend to some of my houseplants or play with the design of my website a bit. You know…do things that I actually enjoy doing. Things that bring me joy and authentic inspiration. If you find yourself in the same position, I encourage you and commend you because it’s very hard to walk away from habits that feel engrained in you (like the habit of using social media for every little thing. It’s also hard to feel like there’s something out there you’re missing out on by not being present. But, there is indeed more to life and creating outside of the four proverbial walls of Instagram.
If you stuck around and read this far, thanks for being here and diving into these thoughts with me! What are you attempting to STOP DOING in this new year? Leave me a comment below and let me know. If you enjoyed reading this blog and think you know someone who might enjoy it too, please feel free to send it their way or drop a link in your favorite group!
I truly hope you have a wonderful new year ahead in whatever you pursue,
HOLLY
Affiliate links were used in this blog which may offer me commissions to support this blog.