Hard Work Does Not Require Personal Suffering

Photo by DJ Johnson on Unsplash

Second, fourth, plié, turn. Second, fourth, plié, turn.

I repeated this sequence over and over while my ballet teacher chanted it over the music. Each time, I pointed my foot out to the side (second), moved it about a foot behind my other foot while maintaining turnout (fourth), bent both knees (plié), and then tried to use that compressed energy to spring up, lift the back foot to the front knee, and complete a single turn. Each time, something went wrong. I fell out of the turn. I tipped over to one side. My feet ended up in the wrong places. And each time, I cracked up. I was a living bloopers reel, and I was enjoying every moment.

I didn’t always laugh at my mistakes. More often, I’d get frustrated or even angry at myself. I’d feel like a failure when I didn’t accomplish something in the time I expected. Even when I did eventually accomplish said goal, it wouldn’t feel like an accomplishment. It felt more like catching up to where I thought I should have already been.

My coaches would ask me “who says you have to get it right the first time?” I didn’t have an answer except “I do!” I don’t know where this rule came from originally. The way I was raised or social expectations perhaps. There is definitely a pressure and expectation to be perfect in American society. The beauty and fitness industries make bank off…