Ballet, Business & Creativity

I have started Adult Ballet lessons. There, a declaration has been made, a goal set and a public announcement to stick to. Do I have dance experience...not really, an early memory of my last brush with ballet was at four years old and then three years of tap dancing ending at age 8 to pursue another creative avenue, piano, beginning at age 9. So why do this now? I've spent many years creating personas - a music student, a career in technology sales, a hockey mom and now...a dance mom (actually a mom that dances to be clear). Now, more than ever, it's time to focus on my health and creativity.

As we age and our children become adults, this causes changes in the amount of time we have to fill (not driving to/from hockey, not getting someone else ready for school, etc.), and it also causes changes in motivation. I have always been a big proponent of time blocking & routines - boring to some and at times a fun thing to poke fun at me for however, creating daily routines means that I spend less time making lots of micro-decisions and can spend more time being creative. In a fast-paced world of technology, remaining creative by learning new things is something I must make time for, and crave. I've seen it called 'creative aging' - it allows me to sharpen my focus and find new ways of looking at things.

Ballet forces me to focus on positioning and timing - I have to concentrate and be completely mindful in the moment. It fosters my love of exercise and movement, and helps to continually maintain my balance and posture. Research has shown that cultivating complex skills throughout a lifetime, like learning a new language or learning a new instrument (I have that one covered!), can build up your cognitive reserves which can offer protection against cognitive decline. Same goes for physical activity and a concept known as movement reserve.

There are lots of excuses I could have used - too old, no experience, no time, not going to make money doing this - but the ROI on health benefits and mental health benefits outweigh the possibility of being out of my comfort zone in a ballet class. I will do anything to prevent burnout, build/maintain muscle, exercise, be social and build on my creative muscle - an active brain equates to improved productivity inside and outside of work. Creativity is essential for long term success - individually and for businesses. This is the essential ingredient for the future - 'the convergence of AI, collaboration and visual communication is reimagining the creative process' - so invest in it personally and work for an organization that invests in creating an environment to be creative, and fosters diverse perspectives. Creative thinking is of value to companies to help gain advantage over competitors and boost productivity. Yes, it may be too late for ballet to become a next career or lead role in the Nutcracker, but it will never be too late to learn something new.

Almost every time I mention I play the piano, the response back is always that the person wished they had learned/stuck with learning when they were younger. You were younger yesterday, even 5 minutes ago...start now, whatever it is.