Last year, I stumbled into the world of salsa and bachata. Little did I know that it’d teach me a profound lesson about facing my fears and embracing the uncomfortable, and it’d be such a source of inspiration for my newsletters and blog. 🙂

Falling in love with bachata

My dance journey started with a mix of excitement and anxiety, much like the feelings many of us experience when tackling new challenges or learning new skills in our businesses.

The intro pass I purchased gave me access to salsa and bachata classes. When I signed in on the first day, my teacher reminded me of that. I was so freaked out (hello, social anxiety) – I said, “No thanks, I’ll stick to salsa!”.

But after 40 minutes of dancing, I wanted more!

So I stayed for bachata. And I’m so glad I did. I fell in love. With the moves but also the music. Oh, Romeo Santos! 😍

For the next 6 weeks, I had a lot of fun.

New level, new challenge

Things changed when I moved from the beginners to the intermediate class. I felt totally out of place. I was now dancing with people who knew what they were doing and had been dancing for a long time. I’d only been doing it for 6 weeks.

My partners would often comment that I looked terrified. Which is exactly how I felt. 

While I was loving salsa more and more, I started to loathe bachata. You see, it was way too sensual for my comfort zone.

One of the things I hated the most: body rolls. Especially when we had to do them facing each other.

I decided I had enough, and I quit. I decided to focus on salsa instead.

Trying again: a new perspective

But there was no denying it – I still loved bachata. I listen to it all the time, having my own Dirty Dancing moments on my way to the shops.

And so I decided to give it another go.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed something: after every bachata class, I walked home super frustrated. And that made me angry and even more frustrated.

I asked myself why this was happening.

And I realised this: I wanted to get better and enjoy the class, yet I wasn’t showing up fully.

The power of mindset

That day, as I do in every class, I said to almost every partner: “I hate body rolls”. 

This started as a way to justify why I was terrible at them. But then I started believing it. To the point where I said: “I simply refuse to do them”. (I’ll admit, I don’t know where that came from, but that was sort of my wake-up call!).

The thing is, body rolls aren’t really an option in bachata. They’re kind of *the* thing.

The only way for me to enjoy bachata again was to embrace body rolls and change my mindset about them.

And so I did!

And guess what? I had way more fun during the class and walked home super happy! (And my teacher even spent more time explaining how to do them! I guess I wasn’t the only one struggling. 😉).

Does it mean I’m good at them now or feel 100% comfortable? Of course not! But I’ve decided to set aside my fears and discomfort while learning.

Are systems your body rolls?

You know you need them to make things flow, but deep down, you’re so scared that you don’t know what you’re doing that you refuse to even try.

I can help.

In Chaos to Calm, my private coaching program, not only do we build your systems, but we also work on your mindset around systems and tech so they stop getting in the way of creating the easeful, impactful and profitable business you’ve dreamt of.