Ebb and Flow

I am noticing something about my dance. There is a definite pattern to my enthusiasm. A tide that rises and falls.

My love for my dance never changes, that is for sure. I am always pinning new things on Pinterest. I'm watching videos, I am thinking of new things to teach in my classes. I'm am still obsessed.

However my obsession changes, I have found. For months at a time, I am full speed ahead! Drilling every night, making costume pieces left and right to sell (or wear). Cutting music down or changing choreography for my girls.  And then I kind of trickle off for a while.

It's almost like I get burnt out. And I am aware that part of this is because of the stress with my other full time job, and our issues in our home. I never thought that any of this would be easy. Having a "9-5," being a wife and homemaker, volunteering at church, and trying to get a belly dance career up and running, let's face it, that's a lot on someone's plate.

So I've set some goals.

Saturdays are my super clean day (cause I hate my house being a mess). Since my private lesson hasn't been back for about a month or so (hey, everyone's busy I know!) I am now going to use the rest of my Saturday and Sunday afternoons to work on my projects, then I can post new ones in my Etsy Store on Mondays.

Any day or night that I am at home, I will get back into the habit of an hour of drills. I said it, an hour.

Hopefully, these simple goals will help me pace my level of enthusiasm. Like EVERYTHING ELSE I DO, sometimes I just don't want to deal with 9 yards of fabric. Sometimes I just don't want to do percussive hip drops for 30 minutes strait. But I have to remember that this is not just a passion anymore. This is now a source of income. A job. I'm OK with that, but I have to treat it like my other job...well better than my other job because I'm really starting to loathe that one. Still, I get up every morning and go to that one, then I can dedicate a few hours of my week to the one that I love. Dance, writing, and music have been the only artistic constants in my life that I have stuck with completely. It only seems fair that I should devote my time to them.

So if anyone is in the same boat I am, and you find yourself at the low end of the enthusiasm cycle, then stop for a second. Address the problem. Why is your enthusiasm deficient? Are you too worried about something else? Are you preoccupied with your job, your spouse,  your finances? These things will suck your energy and leave you in a slump. That's OK. It happens to all of us. Take a look at your life and, IF needed, make some changes. And remember, sometimes we just get drained and need a break. There's nothing wrong with that.