#thedanceprof

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRgAkKmblOg)

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVIIF4fBtAE)

     There’s an old ‘90s movie starring Bill Murray (Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day) called What About Bob? It’s classic Bill Murray doing his usual eccentric comedy shtick, and in this film he’s a lovable yet eccentric Bob Wiley who is confined by his ever-growing list of phobias. He’s pawned off from one psychiatrist to another to become the patient of an egotistical psychiatrist, Dr. Leo Marvin, played by Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Holland’s Opus), who prescribes him shamelessly solicits him his latest novel Baby Steps so he can be rid of Bob and leave on a vacation with his family for some peace and quiet--or so he thinks.  

     Meanwhile Bob takes the novel’s advice with zeal and begins taking baby steps by literally shuffling his feet two inches at a time to do a variety of tasks that help him confront his fears--like using an elevator...and sailing! (Such a classic scene: “I’m SAILING!...I can SAIL!”)  If you’re into Bill Murray and classic ‘90s comedies, then I recommend you watch the film. Richard Dreyfuss also plays a foil perfectly against Bill Murray’s comedic shenanigans; however I digress. 

     My real purpose here is to point out a life lesson that this film reminds me of whenever it comes to mind: 

     How often are we confined by our fears? 

     There are many reasons we may think of to hold us back from overcoming fear and doing whatever it is we want to do, and in some cases perhaps from doing what we should do.

     I have more introverted qualities than extraverted.  I want to make a disclaimer that I don’t believe being introverted is inherently bad.  Even though my opinion is biased because I’m more of an “innie” than an “outie”, I don’t believe that being a listener, cautious, reflective, and seeking small group settings are bad attitudes to have.

    For me, though being afraid of “putting myself out there” for fear failure or of what others may think has been a struggle since childhood.  However, I am a dancer and a college professor, so obviously I’ve been improving since the days when I would run and hide behind my mom’s leg whenever someone wanted to talk to me.  I’ve performed in front of audiences all over the world, I get up in front of a class to teach them every day, and now I’m wanting to become a YouTube creator where potentially millions of people could become my audience.

     It can be daunting to think about, and Bob Wiley’s way of conquering his fears is where I draw the connection between the film and real life. In most cases we probably aren’t going to conquer our fears in one day, but each baby step forward will eventually become leaps and bounds toward accomplishing our goals.

     If we want to move forward to do big things, then we can start now by making small manageable goals.