Many years ago, possibly when I
was studying Statistics, as part of Psychology, I became aware of how
misleading stats could be, especially averages, and of how they were often used
to push particular agendas – most notably in politics, or basically any
situation where manipulation or coercion were at play.
One encounters this when reading
information about countries, in anything from a newspaper article to a travel
brochure. One of the misleading uses of stats is average income. In South Africa,
we have a small minority of people who earn an outrageous amount of money, a growing
middle-income group, but a vast majority who earn very little. When the stats
are given as an average, we could easily be duped into believing that every
working South African earns a decent income. In fact, the inequalities seem to
be growing.
Well, I have a perfect example in
my own life, right now - my dancing stats. I started dancing 363 days ago, and
have danced 136 times. That gives you an average of one workout every 2,6 days
– really good, right? Averages, however, don’t give the full picture – they
take the figures, add them, divide by the number of figures, and come up with a figure.
The truth is that, since I
started my new job, 58 days ago, I have danced only 13 times, which gives us an
average of one workout every 4,5 days. The truth within that truth is that it
included a 7-day break, just because I was so busy and exhausted.
In effect, as I suspected would happen,
I had lost my momentum for a few weeks. It
would have been the easiest thing to give up, and to say I just don’t have time
for dancing anymore. But that was never an option. I promised myself, 363 days
ago, that I would dance for as long as my body was able to. More than anything,
dancing makes me happy. Deliriously happy. My spirit soars, I can’t stop
smiling, and I feel invincible, when I dance. I feel whole, and it’s a
wonderful feeling. Not many things in life make one feel that way, especially
in one’s adult years. When you find something that makes you feel that way, you
have to make more time for it, and invite it to help you live your best
life.
My life has undergone two major
changes, in the past few months: I bought an almost-new car, and I changed my
job. How are they related to my dancing? They were both goals I set during my
dancing challenge. I used the mental focus and the energy that dancing gave me
to set and pursue those goals. The fact that I achieved them shows me that
dancing is something I definitely need to keep in my life. And now, as I
approach 30 April, which will bring me to the end of my FIRST YEAR of dancing,
I am more excited than ever about it, and have decided to take it a lot more
seriously. Part of that entails continuing to pair my dancing goals with my
other goals. My most creative and productive times of my life have always been
when I was involved in some kind of regular exercise. Fit mind in a fit body.
Two other aspects of my life need
to be more aligned with my dancing goals, both of which have been life-long
challenges for me: eating healthily, and getting enough sleep.
Now that I’m working in such a
stimulating, progressive, creative environment, I feel more empowered than ever
before; I’m more confident about coming up with ideas and setting goals, and I
love the space I’m given to be innovative, and to take an idea from a thought
right through to fruition. I’ve always operated with an irrepressible optimism,
but life has sent me many- and I mean MANY - people and situations that have
sapped my energy and made me lose some of my sparkle. Fortunately, that
irrepressibility (some call it stubbornness) is exactly what has given me the
patience to work towards my goals, sometimes over years, and to believe (often
in the face of severe challenges and criticism, and signs that could easily be
interpreted as proof that I’m delusional) that I’ll achieve them. J
Someone asked me, the other day, how my
guitar playing was, and my immediate answer was, “Average”. As soon as I said
it, I regretted it. Even though it was probably accurate, it sounded pathetic,
and I will never ever describe anything about myself again with that word.
And so, as I complete my 9th
week in my new job, I am determined to keep reinventing myself, to keep
re-evaluating everything I say and do, and keep being open to what life sends
my way. Soon, I will write a detailed post about the exciting projects I’m busy
with.
I’ve set another major goal, which
I aim to achieve before winter 2017. I have no doubt, given all of the above,
that I’ll achieve it.
Watch this space. ;-)
