Honoring Commitments

Go Team!

How do you choose to push through when it comes to what you’ve committed to? Whether you do sports, art, dance, music, gymnastics or all of the above - making a commitment takes practice, patience and perseverance. Not only to yourself, but to your teammates, coaches, teachers and parents. In this episode, Rachael and Cyla talk about what it takes to stick to those commitments, why it’s important and a few helpful tips to build a mindset that will help support your passions over the years and activities to come. Tune in!

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Massive thanks to the awesome friends that lent their voices to our vision at the top of each episode.  Kelley Buttrick, Jill Perry, Nicole & Lila Britton, Trevor Johns, Caroline Slaughter, Tiffany Morgan, Cassie & Sabrina Glow ++ Jason Shablik & Van Gunter for their audio genius - we adore you all! 

For more information on the show, questions, comments, to share good vibes happening in your world or to request Cyla or Rachael as the Voice for your next message - drop us a line at hello@shesoundslikeme.com or share your voice with us and leave us a message at (678) 653-4110. 

For additional samples of our voice over work and more at www.layahoffman.com and www.cylagrace.com. 

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In Gratitude,

Rachael Laya & Cyla Grace Hoffman

Transcription:
[1:01] Hello. Hello. Are you pumped for a big week?
Yes. The long week. Lots of shows and competition.
Yeah, lots of performances. I'm so excited for you.
But this is not gone without a lot of practice.
Uh huh. And really just honoring your commitments.

[1:25] So that's what we're talking about today.

[1:28] Theater, dance, singing, UKulele voice over.
That's all the stuff you're up to, right.
That's a lot. Yeah. Just a few things that you're interested in that take practice and that require a commitment.
But other kids may have other things like sports like soccer or lacrosse or maybe even gymnastics. Yeah.

[1:56] You know as moms and dads we want to keep it fun for kids, but at the same time when you sign up for something like,
a dance class or a team, you have to practice and take commitment and like make the commitment, make the commitment. Yes.
Make the commitment not only to yourself and your parents, but to your teachers or your coach and your teammates,
and those are some harder lessons to learn at this age because you probably don't really want to feel like doing that on the off times.
Like outside of class, you'd rather be outside or even inside on the screen.
Yeah. Are playing games or being with friends or Yeah, reading books or whatever.
You'd rather do anything but practice. Right?

[2:48] So talk to me about what it took for you to practice and how that felt just the other day when you were working through one of the harder routines that you are working on for a dance competition.
So I have this competition class and dance for jazz and you have to know the dance and you have to get to every class and be on time and have not skip anything.

[3:15] But you also have to practice at home and I thought I was really good and I was but there were a few spots that were just throwing me off a little bit that I didn't get.
So I kept going and I found the spot in the practice video that I was messing up on and I kept watching that over and over and over again.
And then practice. Just that part, not the whole dance, not the whole section of the dance, just that part.

[3:44] That I was messing up on and after I practice it a few times I could go in the dance and I found a new part that I was kind of messing up on, I would just say like, having trouble with,
you didn't, it wasn't as tight as you wanted to be,
because it's a lot of sharp arms, so I kept practicing and eventually I got better and now I can do the dance without any real big parts or sections that I'm messing up on.
Occasionally. You might have a little wrong little piece, but um that's okay.
How does it make you feel now that you're on the other side of that when you're in class or with your your dance troupe or having that whole, you know, section linked better together? How does that make you feel versus how you were feeling before?
So before I was feeling like, wait, what if I don't know the dance, what if I what if I mess up, but if I'm just staring off into space and I have no clue what I'm doing,
and after I practiced and now when I'm in the dance, I feel like there's actually a few people that are watching me to find out what they're supposed to be doing.

[4:53] And it makes me feel more confident that I actually know the dance and that I can do the dance and that,
that it all links together perfectly and and I'm just happy that I'm not staring out into space because some people and they don't practice,
they get on stage and there,
just standing there and they have no clue what to do and all eyes are on them because they don't know what to do.
You want to have all eyes on you because you're doing the best and you know, the dance and you quit because you practiced and that kind of displays some leadership qualities as well.
So you can be a leader or just do your part to keep everything synergistic with your team members because while there may be a few kids that aren't practicing,
and, you know, whether you play sports or you're in dance or gymnastics or what have you, I think what's really obvious is who does take it seriously?
It takes pride in their work because we want you to still have fun, we want this whole thing to be fun and,
and if you're not having fun, you know, in anything you do, it might be time to reevaluate and speak to your grownups about, you know, what the priority is for you,
but part of having fun is knowing where you fit in and knowing and being confident in what you're doing, whether, you know, the rules of the game,
or the moves in your dance.

[6:20] So that is what we're talking about today relative to how that commitment makes all of this feel a lot better.
So it's nice to hear that you're on the other side of that, from feeling a little bit lost, even though you thought you had it together to now, you're feeling like a confident, strong leader,
having put the work in and knowing where you fit in and how you can help support your team.

[6:46] What are some tips that you have that for people that are trying to get, trying to practice,
Well dad and I always say that even just five minutes a day and this is actually by somebody we look up to a guy jesse Itzler who is known for the build your life resume and kind of.

[7:06] Creating things in life that are bigger than you that make memorable experiences and he says that the way to get better at anything you want to do in life is to just spend five minutes a day doing it,
five minutes a day, anybody can put five minutes a day towards anything they want, if they really want to do,
get knowledgeable, get better at or improve their skills and just about anything they do,
it gives your body muscle memory to contain those ideas or that movement or that reaction, whether it's hitting a ball or you know doing a pirouette and so just five minutes a day is really all you need,
and then if you can carve out a little bit more time, you will find that in practice,
does make perfect in some ways, you know everybody, you know, there's people out there that have,
natural talent and natural abilities and things just kind of come to them, which is a lot of times what your kids are drawn to, but if you really take interest in anything, just a little practice goes a long way.

[8:07] So something else we found recently because you are doing a theater production in school.

[8:14] And dance at the same time. And within dance you're part of a performance troupe that does competition and is also planning on a huge end of your show,
that a lot of the commitments, time commitments and rehearsal commitments to each of these coaches and instructors tend to overlap.

[8:33] So that's something we found out kind of the hard way this week when play practice overlapped with competition, practice and dance.
And it can create a lot of stress, not only for you, the student, you know, the expert or what have you, but it can create stress among your coaches, your parents, your team members, etcetera.
If you're not there to honor your commitment for that full amount of time, right?

[8:59] And we're getting into that this week.

[9:02] So sometimes if you miss something, everybody else will get really stressed because you might have a big part that everyone needs you to do the part or even a little part that's still important, right?
Because you're marked on the floor, you're a special position on the team or you have to be lifted or you have to lift someone, right?
And so that's happening this week, where we have to shave off 15 minutes on one to get to the other one and you're going to be late for the other one to make time for them both. And you know, we're going to work it out.
But those are commitments that we i as your,
grown up, needed to really coordinate with these people and give good heads up on ahead of time and I didn't do the best job that just with everything else that we have going on.

[9:53] Um, I also didn't realize the importance of it until we were at this point, as you've never been in a competitive dance before.
I've never been in a big theater production before, but the same goes for everything we do, whether it's voiceover coaching or when we're working with our clients, if we say we're going to be available at a certain time,
it's important that were available at that time.
If we say that we're going to launch a podcast every other week on a Wednesday, it's important we are to launch podcast every other week on a Wednesday.
Even when we don't feel like it like now in between dance rehearsal and play practice.
Yes, please, I need a break please and you'll get yours and you love all this and so it's fun to put it together.

[10:43] But these are just good reminders as we move through life and like you know whether or not this makes sense for your schedule or to stack all these interests or things.
Something you should be very aware of is your commitments to yourself first, but to the people that are counting on you right?
Also sometimes when you don't want to practice, you kind of need a little motivator. Yeah. What are some things you can do to be motivated about that?
Sometimes I like to like stand up and shake it up.
Like just shake every part of your body and wake it up.
And sometimes I need like like some food or to close my eyes for a minute to like hit the reset switch energetically. Yes. Yeah.
Cool. But not, don't totally reset so that you forget about practicing because that's not what you want.
So sometimes when you don't want to practice just the reset button.
Yeah. And then it makes it a bit easier.
Get motivated, does it help to visualize the outcome of the situation for you. Yeah.
So if you don't practice, you might be on stage and or doing a big game or whatever, not know what you're doing and fail for your team and that's not good.

[12:01] Be embarrassing to you. But if you practice, you could win the competition, you could be the best on the stage or you could win the big game or yeah, be definitely appreciated by your coaches,
and your team members and all of that, Right? Yeah.
And that feeling, I think I'm really envisioning that feeling is important too visualize the outcome that you want instead of the outcome that you don't want.

[12:34] And that feeling on the other side of practice is much more settling and stabilizing than the one that would be very nervous and.

[12:46] You know, black lack the confidence they need.
That's a great tips. II.

[12:52] So what are you going to do to get ready for all of this?
You've got for performances, You've got dance competition, practice rehearsal and the next week competition and in a few weeks after that, the big show for what are you going to do to prep your mind, your body, your spirit,
to be the best you can be um, for this and honor your commitments.
I'm going to practice and I'm going.

[13:19] To shake it out and I'm going to remember I practiced so I'm going to be good or at least I'm going to do my best and whatever my best is is okay.
Also, I'm going to have to get a lot of sleep, especially because it's daylight savings time messes everyone up and I'm going to eat healthier.
I'm not going to eat a whole lot of gloom because I know that messes me up.
I don't want to mess me up. So I'm going to eat healthy.
I'm going to get good sleep and stay hydrated, eat my vitamins and overall be a little healthier.
I'm gonna make sure all of my stuff is organized in my bag.
All my costumes are ironed all my costumes already and I have the right supplies,
for hair and makeup and snacks and things like that. So I don't get out of whack.
Yeah. So if you prepare those things, maybe the night before a couple of days before and you have it all organized and I am going to help you with all of this? Of course.
That will also help your mindset.

[14:28] To be more organized. Be on point for all these big activities that you've been practicing all year for, which is your commitment,
to your coach, to your team, to your parents and to yourself, correct.
And I'm here to support that. Thank you.
So let's rock and roll and have a killer week. I cannot wait to see you shine.
Thank you. Yeah, maybe we'll post a few pics of one of your most fabulous costumes because I think they're just adding more glitter and rhinestones.
My ballet dress is like so puffy. It's like swans lake.
It's insane. Except it's not like a giant flower. Absolutely good thing. You only have to wear it for a few nights.

[15:15] It'll be a lot of fun if you are listening to this, we'd love to hear about you and your commitments and some tips and tricks,
that you keep top of mind to honor those commitments to yourself and your teams and let us know what you get into and what you've been working hard and practicing for.
Yes, we need some new ideas. Let's add a couple more things to your play it next year. What do you say?
No, no, we're going to get like a lead next year, so no.
Okay, big britches. Well, thanks for chatting with me today about it. I'm excited to see you shine this week.
Thank you All of you shine. All of you shine and go team.
Go team. Go team. We'll see you next time. See you next time. Bye.