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Filipe Névola

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Back5/5/24, 3:44 PM

Have you ever danced in the street?

tl;dr: be happy, dance above your circumstances, have fun

Hey,

Today I want to talk about a reflection I've been having for two weeks after seeing a young man dancing on the street for two days in a row.

Original text posted in Portuguese in August 2023.

I walk with Mimosa (a dog, not a cow) two or three times a day, and for two days in a row, I saw a young man wearing headphones dancing and walking.

What's important to note is that he wasn't just dancing; he was dancing while walking, which means he didn't stop what he was doing to dance. He danced while continuing to do what he had to do: walk from point A to point B.

His goal wasn't to dance; he wanted to go somewhere, and you can get somewhere in many ways.

I've seen everything during these walks, from people crying to laughing, grumbling, and even saying good morning to everyone. This young man chose to walk and dance for two days in a row. He had a clear goal, and he wasn't wandering aimlessly, but he was doing it with lightness and fun.

And that's where my reflection begins: how many things do we do with unnecessary weight? Weights that we invented? Obligations that we created?

There's a Pastor I follow (Ed René Kivitz) who always says, "You don't have to anything." Many times we say, "But I have to…" Do we really "have to"?

Think about how your day was yesterday: what did you do that could have been light but wasn't?

Stoic thought: "it doesn't matter what comes to you; what matters is how you react."

I know there are many annoying bosses out there, and I'm sure many people have considered me (or still do) annoying, and I'm sure I've been annoying many times and probably still am in many moments. But if you think carefully, you can react to annoying people lightly or even ignore them. You might not even need to react at all.

Can we do things dancing? Can't that boring planning meeting have a bunch of funny stories and laughter in between? Does the time to finish really matter? Is planning more important than a good chat between humans?

What I want to say in the end is: have intention. Think before anything about how you want to feel doing it.
BTW, this is a hack I learned from My First Million, and it works greatly: for example, you just finished reading this text, and you're going to do something, right? Choose a feeling and have the intention of doing the next thing with that feeling.

It can be joy, it can be "intensity", or even sadness – why not?

Unfortunately, coaches have ruined many words, but we can ignore the coaches and simply do the same things in an important way, so intend how you want to feel and notice that your intention and your way of doing things completely change the things you do.

Ah, and if you like dancing (I don't), and you have the habit of walking, please start walking and dancing, as it will make many people stop and think: "maybe I could be dancing too?"

And don't confuse this with laughing all the time; whoever laughs all the time is silly. However, being happy all the time is a choice.

Be happy and enjoy what you love.