How To Choose Dance Resolutions That You’ll Actually Want To Keep

Charise Roberts

January 23, 2024

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I’ve made New Year’s Resolutions every year since I was about 10 years old.

And I’ve “failed” them almost every single year.

So, why do I keep making them? And why are you probably in a similar boat, alongside ~90% of us?

This year, I’m encouraging all of us, seasoned dancers and new dancers alike, to leave this narrative as far away from our dance goals as possible.

Follow the framework below to start making dance resolutions that you’ll actually want to keep!

1. Reframe how you talk to yourself about resolutions.

If you tell yourself that a single missed training session = failure, all you’re doing is adding anxiety to your life.

There are going to be times when you have a headache, or you’re swamped at work, or you’re just not feeling it.

So, before even making any resolutions, first resolve to drop the negative self-talk.

Don’t use negative language like, “change,” “fix,” and “stop.”

Don’t put arbitrary time constraints on yourself like, “I want to learn 4 routines per month.”

While these types of language can be helpful when you’re on a time crunch, let’s get real – 2020 was rough.

It’s time to give ourselves space to just enjoy things at our own pace.

So, use positive framing when writing down your resolutions.

Use phrases like, “I want to lean into,” “I want to nurture,” or “I want to make space for…”

Dance is not a necessity in life – its purpose is to bring us joy!

When you begin your resolutions this way, you acknowledge that this is an opportunity for joy, not a duty.

Now, let’s break down the second half of what to include in your dance resolution. 👇‍

2. Choose resolutions that are broad, easy, and bring you joy.

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Your resolutions should be broad enough that you can achieve them in several ways, easy enough that they don’t feel daunting, and joyful enough that you look forward to working on them!

A broad resolution could be, “I want to dance more often.”

This leaves you open to explore different styles of dance, switch up whether you’re learning routines or moves, or dance for any length of time and still feel great as long as you’re moving more than before.

An easy resolution is one that lies on a path you’re already pursuing – something that would’ve happened on its own.

If you’re totally new to dancing and you’ve been binge-watching dance videos, your resolution could be, “I want to get more dance knowledge!”

If you’ve been stuck on watching nothing but swaggy STEEZY concept videos, encourage yourself to check out more informative content like blog posts & tip videos.

Lastly, a joyful resolution is one that brings you pleasure as you pursue it – not pain.

For example, “I want to choose dance workouts that feature my favorite songs.”

If you know that moving to Ariana Grande’s latest bops is what turns a workout sesh into a party sesh, lean into that and make it your game plan.

Don’t be afraid to get experimental and choose resolutions that fit you, not that idealized version of yourself that you imagine every January.

3. Subtract, don’t add.

We all create little time slots for ourselves in our day.

For example:

8am - wake up, eat breakfast, get ready for work

9am - work until lunch

12pm - lunch break

12:30ish - back to work

6:30ish - stop working & do chores like dinner and dog-walking

8:30ish - relaxation, TV, etc

Bedtime

However, when we make resolutions, we often try to suddenly add new time slots by getting up earlier, working through lunch, or pretending there are now more than 24 hours in the day.

This will never work long-term.

If you try to add new time slots, you’re going against what you already like about your day.

Instead, look closely at your time slots reserved for activities that you enjoy, but feel jussst a bit guilty about.

For example, the time you reserve for 2 episodes of your latest K-drama, tapping through TikTok, or taking 30 selfies (knowing that you’re gonna post the one with the angle you ALWAYS choose).

Swap that time out for your joyful resolution.

You’ve trained your brain to expect a little dopamine hit at that time of the day, but with the right resolution, you’ll be able to do something different with that time slot and feel just as good, if not better.

4. Have a way to track your success – not your progress.

Tracking your progress involves setting a concrete goal and measuring how close you are to meeting the end goal.

For example, if you’re trying to get healthier and take on the Chloe Ting challenge, you might track each week that you complete, knowing that you’ll hit the end.

But once the challenge is over, your resolution is over too – and you’ll be right back to avoiding workouts.

Tracking your success goes hand-in-hand with having those broad, easy, joyful resolutions.

Without a concrete number, you’ll be able to shift your focus to celebrating every little win, with no deadline in sight.

This helps you reframe your resolution as a lifestyle shift that makes you happier, rather than an endgame to be met.

You know those cheesy planners that you find at Target and stationary stores around resolution season?

The ones with the empty spreadsheets labeled as goal/habit trackers?

Get. One. Of. Those.

Or right-click, save, and print the one below for free!

Fill the empty slots with your dance resolutions (and any others you may have).

Then, pick a daily time slot that you’ll dedicate to pursuing your resolutions.

Each day, during your resolution time slot, choose 1 thing from the weekly list to pursue.

Not only will you avoid feeling pressured to hit an imaginary deadline, but you’ll start to enjoy picking a joyful activity from your “menu” each day.

After finishing your activity, color in the box on the right and move on feeling happy & accomplished.

I hope this guide was handy in selecting your dance resolutions this year!

When you choose resolutions that focus on joy over perfection, it becomes easier to celebrate every single day.

And when you have many great days, having a great year will just… fall into place.

Below is a list of New Year resolution ideas to help you get started.

Have you come up with a great resolution idea already? Share with us in the comments!

♥ Good luck dancers, and cheers to a much happier 2021. ♥

DANCE RESOLUTION IDEAS:

“I want to freestyle more often”

“I want to dance to the songs that bring me joy”

“I want to experiment with a new dance style”

“I want to dance ‘til I sweat”