We recently connected with Misa Mochizuki and have shared our conversation below.
Misa, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I stopped judging myself.
Before I always told myself, “You are not enough, so work harder.” “You can’t make mistakes because that’s a shame.” “You must dance better than other dancers. You can’t lose.” etc. But this kind of words actually gave me bigger fear. I always criticized myself, that’s why I always criticized others.
One day I started to tell myself, “You are beautiful.” “You are doing great.” “You are such a superstar.” I treated myself very nicely. Then people around me start saying, “Misa is superstar!”
The world in front of me reflects my mind. If I change my mind, I can change the world.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Before I dance especially on stage, I always tell myself, “I’m gonna have a good time with audience.” Dancing perfectly or not doesn’t matter. But if I dance like trying not to fall, it’s very hard to open my heart and show true myself. I think that is the only mistake on stage. So after rehearsals, I just trust that all process, my partner and of course myself, and just feel and enjoy each moment on stage during the show.
This winter I have 3 places to dance Sugar Plum Fairy in NY. I feel so excited!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
You are the only person to tell yourself, “You are good enough to do this.” Please don’t wait until someone gives you the permission to do something. Of course we should try to make it better always. But it’s not possible to reach the perfection, because that’s why we are human, not the machine. We can’t live forever, so we have no time to make excuses like “I’m still not enough.” So if you wanna try something, start right now. Today is the day.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Deep breath and meditation helps a lot. When you think too much, your body and mind get disconnected. So maybe for only 5 minutes, you focus on your breath and try to feel your body. After that, do something which makes you happy and comfortable. Drink coffee, eat chocolate, take a nap, read a book, go for a walk, take hot tab, watch Netflix, etc. Only you know what makes you feel better. So take an action for yourself! Then you might get better ideas than before.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @misafullmoon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misa.mochizuki.50
- Youtube: @misamochizuki1187
Image Credits
Rachel Neville
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
