Hello and happy new year!

Reflecting on the past year, things have been pretty crazy for me, and not always in a good way. December really culminated in a series of big changes and setbacks- however, I’ve had my time for moping and now it is time to move on and take action.

The infrequency of my posts in 2016 is nothing short of embarrassing, and to you, my readers, I apologise and I thank you for reading and interacting when I did post. I love keeping this blog, and in 2017 I want to make regular updates more of a priority. The redesign is still in the pipeline- I’m getting my head around wordpress.org at the moment!

It’s around this time that I always reflect on my progress in ballet. I think this year I have progressed, more in mentality and approach than physically or technically. In 2017 I really need to step it up. Luckily I’ve just gotten a new job which is part-time and allows me so much more time to focus on dance. I’m currently getting ready for what I hope will be a busy audition season, and I’m both excited and terrified! I want to be as prepared as I can be.

With that in mind, my new year’s resolution this year is to attend class more! Now, I say I take class six days per week, however I do work full-time and a lot of the time I am just too worn out, or I have a meeting that runs over, or I get sick or injured, and for weeks I barely take class at all. So, I have quantified my resolution by setting a very very minimum of four classes per week, but preferably five or more (now that I have more time, there are more classes available to me so I could take more than six). I think I am similar to a lot of people in that I get in to an all-or-nothing mindset: I get motivated to make changes, and I go at it full throttle, going to loads of classes, doing loads of stretching and conditioning, doing cardio, eating little salads and drinking loads of green tea and water and writing all my corrections and getting to the studio an hour and a half early every day… you get the picture. Then, something happens like my plans get changed last-minute, or I have an awful week at work or I get ill, my progress stops and I never quite get back into my groove. I know, however, that it’s CONSISTENCY of training that gets results, not skipping class all year then going crazy two weeks before an audition. I need to be really disciplined with getting myself to class- even if I’m exhausted and having the worst week, I just need to drag myself in four days.

That’s my main resolution, my golden rule for 2017. I have also set myself five other goals that I would like to achieve:

1. Reach my target weight of 8st 10lbs.
2. Get on to a degree or equivalent course to study dance.
3. Improve cardiovascular fitness, endurance, strength in the right muscles, flexibility, balance and technique.
4. Nurture grit and self-discipline.
5. Show utmost respect to health.

In my next post, I want to show you an amazing method I’ve found for breaking down goals and tracking progress towards them. I’ve been so much more productive and pro-active towards my goals since I discovered it!

I know that for a lot of people 2016 was at times dark, difficult and just a bit rubbish. I do hope that 2017 is the light at the end of the tunnel we’ve all been searching for. I implore you to spend a bit of time thinking about things you’d like to achieve this year, and in my next post I’ll share the tricks I use to make real progress towards those goals.

I look forward to talking to you a lot more this year!

Jessica x