Dear diary, this week I learned about staying positive and fighting the urge to be a sulky brat when I don't pick things up as fast as I would like to.
Tash got back from a week-and-a-half in China last week, but when we got back to practising it feltlike it had been longer since we had danced together.
I'm a fairly impatient guy, I want to be able to do things straight away. I'd also had a tough week outside of dancing, so wasn't in a great head space to begin with. So, when I found I wasn't remembering the steps we had learned as well as I thought I would, I started letting my head drop and at one stage was bordering on tantrum territory.
Luckily for me I have been partnered with one of the most positive women I've ever met and afterwards Tash gave me a good talking to and made sure I was in a more positive mind frame - a timely reminder that sulking won't help either of us. I also have to give our instructors Troy and Shelley a shout out for putting up with me.
In other news, we had our photoshoots for our billboards and other advertising on Wednesday. It's quite a daunting feeling having your photo taken and knowing it is going to be plastered on a billboard somewhere. But, we got into character and the photographer Tracey Robinson did an amazing job of explaining how she wanted us to pose.
On Friday we watched a DVD of last year's dances and were treated to a Q and A with last year's winners Kelly Albrecht and Steve Pinder.
They had some super valuable advice about how important it is to communicate with your dance partner, getting your basic routine nailed as soon as possible so you can start working on the extra touches such as facial expressions, and most importantly just enjoying the experience.
I can't wait for our next practice and to jump into it with a nice, positive frame of mind. As Tash keeps telling me "Life's too short to sweat the small things".
