Average

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 9^th 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. ;-)