Victory Dances – Whenever my yearbook staff is facing a final deadline and the pressure has been mounting, we have to do something to break the tension. One of the greatest stress relievers is to submit a completed spread.

Unfortunately hitting that “Submit” button also hits our “Fear of Failure” buttons. The best cure for fighting this post-submit anxiety is the victory dance.

Just like athletes in big time games, I challenge my students to have a signature dance move that they do after submitting one of their spreads. Most of my staff members look at dancing as more terrifying than turning in their pages, but once the tradition gets going each year, the fun starts flowing.

They learn to let go of those trepidations and move on to the next task at hand. They have boogied beyond the distress of self-doubt and letting go. AND letting go of fear and insecurity, ladies and gentlemen, is always worth dancing over.

By: Melanie A. Peters