So photographer and old friend of mine, who relocated to New York sometime before I left Boston, decided to do a road trip around New England. One of his stop-offs was in my little town. We were able to explore the abandoned convenience store as well as the collapsed barn (and the far-more-legal park by the electric plant). We talked about what we were expecting from the shoot, and he replied with that he's been so burned out by the photography world that he doesn't even care if the images come out great. At this point, it's just about the experience and enjoying the day.
I was thinking about that with my tai chi class tonight. I can only describe what has happened over the last few months as bang and bust. I went for a long period where my classes were surprisingly full, where all I did was email people, answering their questions about tai chi.
And then ... bust.
I've been riding this wave for almost 9 months now. Classes going great at one yoga studio ... it goes out of business. Classes build up in new places ... and one of those places just falls through completely. Lots of students enrolling ... and now only one or two regulars.
At the end of the day, I cannot focus so much on the result of getting students. I'll burn myself out. Especially as a new teacher, I need to focus on the experience and learning how to conduct my class to the best of my abilities.
As a tai chi instructor, I've changed how I run my classes so many times at this point. From the verbiage to the whole format and timing. Now is the perfect time to test out new ways of running the class, when I only have a few people as my audience. Worrying about drawing so many students is as silly as worrying about how the images will come out.
So, like the photo shoot, I enjoyed today for exactly what it is. I practiced a new way of teaching a certain move that I hadn't tried before, I got to explore some parts of my town that I hadn't before, and I genuinely had a good time. Images and enrollment forms be damned.
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