A Big Scary Thing

Photo by Amanda Vick

We have all got tasks, opportunities, life changes, jobs, etc. that we put on our mental list titled "Big Scary Things." You know what I'm talking about, the things that cause that little twinge of fear in the pit of your stomach or that make your head and your heart start to race. The funny thing about these big scary things is that so often when you finally get yourself to cross them off the list the pay off is astounding. Even if the big scary job didn't feel like the right fit you probably still learned loads of new things and added a few new connections to your book that may come in handy down the road. Even if the new city you decided to explore solo wasn't your favorite place that you've been to you at least proved to yourself that you can navigate a new city on your own. 

So you are probably thinking "Mads, why are we talking about big scary things today?" Well friends, I recently have tackled one of the things on my "Big Scary Things List!"

Teaching dance has been a big scary thing to me for a good long while. I never quite knew why I was so scared to teach something that I had been doing my whole life, but I was. 

The beginning of this fall, I said "yes" to teaching a few classes to 2-4 year olds and let me tell you, I was pretty shocked, and proud, that I said yes. 

What could be so scary about this? 

It finally dawned on me that the thing I was so scared about was judgement and the opinions of those around me. 

What if the kids don't like me? Will the parents think I am doing a good job at teaching their tiny tots the beginning basics of dance? Will the people passing my classroom window think that I have solid control over my class? By the end of the season will my classes get on stage and be recital ready? 

Dance had been in my life in some capacity for 20 years of my life. That's a whole lot of time. During all that time I've learned, I've performed, I've competed, I've been a teachers assistant, I've had my own classes. Despite that knowledge that I've accumulated I was still nervous to walk into class the first day and meet my little dancers. 

And guess what happened? It went well. Sure, it has taken a few weeks to get into a routine with the kids, but now I walk into my classes each week with no hesitation. I finally got out of my own way and it has paid off.

I guess this is all a long way of saying, that thing on your "Big Scary Things" list, just go do it. It feels like a weight being lifted off of you when you finally go for it.