One of the steps I've had to learn for a number of routines in Zumba is called the "six-step." It's literally six steps. How hard is it to take six steps?
Well - when you're supposed to be twisting from your waist (tighten up those abs!) and moving your arms a certain way, and two of those steps involve crossing your feet, and you're doing it all really fast to music that's in 6/8 time when you've been listening to music in 4/4 all day, and you're thinking really hard about where your feet are supposed to go and trying to watch your instructor and not crash into the person next to you who is also falling over their feet... you might be surprised how challenging those six steps can be. And you generally end up needing to do 4-8 sets of steps, really, and then transition right into another kind of step, and then transition back into it - and it can all be very confusing.
But here's the key, believe it or not: once you quit thinking about it, it gets a whole lot easier.
Learning the six step is actually as easy as counting to six while not looking at your feet. I know that sounds crazy. But it's true. If I try to think, "right, left, cross, left, right, cross" while watching my feet, I will screw it up. But if I count to six and keep my eyes on the instructor - it's not that hard.
Life comes with a whole lot of six-step moments. Moments that arrive and leave you wondering what in the world you're supposed to do next, which direction you're even supposed to be going. Moments that leave you feeling like you're getting everything wrong, moments where you stumble, moments you wish you'd transitioned into with a little more grace and decorum, and moments you really wish you could transition out of because you just can't figure out what to do right now. Moments you have over-analyzed your next steps (literally and figuratively) to the point where all you can do is just stop because you have no idea where you are anymore.
In moments like that, there's only one thing to do: Don't Think About The Six-Step.
Quit thinking about it. Quit overanalyzing it. Stop. Look at your Teacher. Watch the Teacher's feet. Follow where the Teacher leads. And if you're still not sure how to get back into the dance - look for the Cross; begin there. And then just move. Don't think about it. Just look at the Teacher and dance. Do what you see the Teacher doing - all the while keeping your eyes fixed on the Teacher, and not on yourself. And all of a sudden, you'll find you've mastered the steps. (The metaphors seem obvious here...)
Now all you have to do is figure out that tricky double-tap-cross salsa step...
"A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?" - Proverbs 20:24
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." - Hebrews 12:1-3
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