We have always taught our students that dancers have thick skin. Ours is an industry based on first and fleeting impressions, where the color of one’s costume in this venue could garner 1st, and in that venue garner 3rd. A judge may decide they don’t like the color of your hair, or the depth of your tan, or simply the style of dance you choose to pursue. There may be absolutely nothing wrong with your dancing, and yet still you drop placements because these particular judges don’t like your choice of choreography. It’s hard to develop objectivity!
So in such a critical industry as ours, how do you develop objectivity? Is it even important to develop objectivity? We’ve seen so many up and coming competitive dancers drop out simply because their ability to remain objective was not strong enough to overcome that sense of powerlessness. Most likely, this problem exists in every subjective sport. To a degree, in every sport hands down.
Self-critique is important. In fact, it is the single most important skill to acquire if you want to improve at anything. But in a subjective environment like ballroom dancing, how do we develop objectivity within our critique? How do we decide when to listen to others’ critique versus letting it fall to the wayside? We have been competing and braving the harsh criticisms of others for more than twenty years. It took us a long time to figure out a way to sift through the noise, separate constructive self-criticism from self-condemnation, and develop objectivity. Now, we want to share that information with you. Hopefully, you won’t have to struggle as much as we did.
By the way, this post is a great companion to my post about New Year’s Resolutions, where we give tips on how to stick to those resolutions. One of the best tips is to develop objectivity so you can actually track your progress. And for more helpful posts such as this, please remember to subscribe to our email newsletter! Just fill out the information below and join our community of dancers and dance lovers!
The Art of Objectivity
In order to develop objectivity, first we must recognize the art of objectivity. And to do that, we must understand what it really means to be objective, as opposed to subjective. According to Webster, the definition of objectivity is:
The propensity to base decisions and perceptions on exterior information instead of “subjective” aspects… [a] standard of research study such that…observations are lacking bias as much as possible.
Its antonym, subjectivity, is defined as:
…aspects based on feelings such as private emotions, beliefs, and experiences.
For instance, if you were to walk outside and announce to the friend next to you, “It’s cold today!” that might be a subjective statement. Perhaps you feel cold and your friend doesn’t. But should you both look at a thermometer that reads 27º F, you could probably both agree that it’s cold today and wonder with amazement that your friend just happens to not feel it. That’s the difference between a statement, “It’s cold today!” based on a subjective observation – that you feel cold – and an objective observation – that the thermometer reads 27º F.
This is all well and good when we’re talking about temperature, but what about subjects closer to home? Subjects, in fact, that tend to elicit emotional responses? As an example, “I need to lose weight.” This is one of the most difficult subjects to broach, and since we teach many teenagers and young adults, we must teach them how to develop objectivity early on. When it comes to self-critique, this is where your ability to develop objectivity really becomes an art.
Tips on How to Develop Objectivity
Clarity is Key
In order to truly develop objectivity, you must first be clear about the desired outcome. We’re not talking about the huge wide picture – “I want to be a world champion!” Instead, we’re talking about the small, individual steps along the way. Comparing yourself to the current world champion will not develop objectivity. That road leads to disaster. So what do we do instead? Focus on your action points. Using our example of losing weight, we can all agree that the current world champions are in the best possible shapes for their body types. So then we can ask you the question, are you? And being in the best shape does not only mean physical, it also means physiological. You might have finely chiseled muscles, but can you make it through three 5-dance rounds without getting out of breath?
Once you’ve identified an area of improvement, you need to clarify what exactly needs the improvement. So, it’s not that you get out of breath, but you do get side aches in your Paso Doble or leg cramps in your Viennese Waltz. Focus your attention on that particular area. So instead of trying a goal of “I want to be a world champion!”, you’ve reworked it into, “In order to be a world champion, I need to be in the best shape possible. And I get side aches in Paso Doble. Obviously I’m not in my best shape. Time to focus on that.”
By the way, if you are interested in determining your body type and getting into better shape from the diet side, we have a series of blog posts just on dieting! Read this one if you want to learn how to determine your individual body type, or read this post for learning how to determine your daily caloric and macronutrient amounts!
Make Your Plan Actionable
So let’s pretend we’ve identified side aches in your Paso Doble as a real problem that is holding you back. Great. The next step to develop objectivity is to come up with actionable steps that you can actually measure. Remember, in order to be objective, we need to base our improvement on “observations [that] are lacking bias as much as possible.” In the case of side cramps in Paso Doble, that is going to be difficult since it is based on how you feel during a round, but it’s not impossible.
You need to do some research. What causes side cramps? It could be a number of issues. Perhaps you are not drinking enough water. Maybe you’re low on electrolytes. Or maybe your stamina is not up to speed. We would advocate attacking this problem from all three angles. Make sure you’re drinking enough water on a daily basis. Just drinking extra water the day of your competition is not enough to avoid those side cramps. You need to make drinking enough water a daily habit.
Next, double check that you’re getting enough of the electrolytes necessary to avoid cramps. That means manganese, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Especially if you’ve increased your water intake, you may consider adding an electrolyte supplement. We always add electrolytes to our morning water in the weeks leading up to a competition in the desert or at high altitude, since that is when your body burns up the electrolytes the most.
And for stamina, get running! On the street, on the treadmill, it doesn’t matter. Go for a run every day, then increase your frequency of practice rounds. For side cramps in particular, we also suggest adding in an ab workout to increase your core strength. We love this one, we haven’t gotten side cramps since we started doing it at the beginning of our daily practices!
Track, Track, Track!
You must track your progress. What good is identifying an area of improvement if you aren’t going to track your progress? In the case of our example, above, we first have to track our progress in our three action steps. If you’re not the sort of person who naturally drinks a lot of water, track your water intake to make sure you are drinking enough. There are so many apps that you can use on your phone to track your water intake, you really have no excuse. J For your electrolytes, create a habit tracker and a reward system. For instance, for every 14 days straight of taking your electrolytes, reward yourself with a night out at the movies. That’s 14 days STRAIGHT, mind you.
We would recommend a habit tracker and reward system for your workouts, as well. Then, at the end of every 14 days, you’ll be able to look back at your habit tracker and review where you may have slipped up. In your habit tracker or practice journal, keep track of how you feel after each set of practice rounds. Also track how you feel in each competition. Continually review so that you can make any necessary changes or alter your plan if you find something is not working.
Stay Focused – You Know Best!
The last piece of advice for you to develop objectivity is to stay focused on your goals. In our industry, everyone wants to help. But sometimes that help can end up just causing a lot of white noise which can distract us from our goals. Hopefully you’ve taken the time and effort to choose great coaches who are beside you, step by step, along the way. They will help you pinpoint key areas of weakness for you to focus your attentions on. Nobody else knows your key weaknesses.
For instance, you might have identified side cramps in Paso Doble, but the judge coming up to you (who really just wants to help!) says your Jive is your weakest dance. Oftentimes, this will cause us to jump to that problem instead, which will then cause us change focus. But maybe our Jive looks like the weakest dance to him because you suffer from side cramps in your Paso Doble and lose your ability to perform at optimum. Your coaches will help you identify causes versus effects! Keep focused on the cause, and the effect will change! But the judge who’s just letting you know that your Jive is weak doesn’t know you suffer from side cramps in Paso Doble, so thank him for the information and log it away for another day. You can always come back to that after you’ve tackled the side cramps.
Develop Objectivity Overview
So in order to develop objectivity, we recommend the following steps:
- Clarity is key. Make sure you are ultra clear and specific about the individual aspects that need to be improved.
- Make your plan actionable. Create a plan with action points that you can follow.
- Track, track, track! You cannot be objective if you can’t track your progress!
- Stay Focused. Don’t allow those who are not closely involved in your progress to muddle your goals. Only you and your coaches know you best.
Did I miss something? Let me know if you found this post helpful, or if I should add something in a future update. You can tell me in the comments below! And remember, for more updates on more great posts like this, as well as access to our members-only resource library the Quickstep Corner, join our mailing list!
