Oh, love. It’s the butterflies in your stomach. It’s the thing that captures your thoughts and feelings, as you daydream about all of the combinations of tricks that you’re determined to learn and attempt.
Maybe you obsess over it. Instagram videos. Youtube videos. Pinterest pictures. The bruise collection on your body… pole is your jam – and it seems to love you back.

But what happens when the honeymoon phase is no longer?
“There’s a honeymoon phase in pole?!” you exclaim.

Yes, love. There is.

The honeymoon phase is especially prevalent in our Intermediate phase. We’ve gotten past the lustful phase of Beginner, and now we’re hooked for good… or so we think.
We’re learning things like “Butterfly” and our “Inside and Outside” Leg hangs. We’re climbing to the top of the studio like a certified boss.
We post our newly acquired tricks on Social Media, and all of the couch sitters at home are in absolute awe of our badassery.

But what happens when we leave class, and we don’t have an epic photo to post on our social media?  Did you know that this can actually make us feel bad?
That’s right. I’m actually going to go there – your life on social media could be playing a huge factor in your pole burnout.
I mean, if there wasn’t anything to post on the insta, did anything cool even happen at all?
“Psychological findings have shown it is completely normal. In Fact, the pleasure we drive from getting a “like” is equal to that of eating chocolate of winning money, and we cannot help wanting more.” (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/china-watch/society/12211102/social-media-likes-addiction.html)

It is completely normal for us to crave attention – it makes us all human. We’re doing something pretty cool on the pole, and we want others to recognise it – right?
The problem with this addiction in the pole world, however, is how devastating we might feel if we don’t get a new post-worthy trick.
I’ve often found myself doing this too – either practicing by myself, or in someone’s class. I’m itching to record a certain segment for my Social Media… but I’m not living in the moment!
This is one of the largest downfalls that Social Media provides – it occupies our mind, and we are unable to live in the moment that life is offering to us.

And then what? We find ourselves advancing to higher levels – and $h!t gets more difficult. We’re talking bending your leg behind your head so far in an oversplit that you might as well consider yourself a Cirque contortionist. And if that wasn’t difficult enough, let’s add on the challenge of deadlifting into flags and shouldermounts. And just to test your self-trust, let’s add in some epic flips off the pole… because we can be ninjas too, right?

Well my golly! This pole trick thing is no longer seeming to be as easily as attainable as it was before! If that’s what you’re thinking, you’d be correct.
You see, in our Intermediate levels – we’re learning tricks that are generally attainable for the average healthy adult. (They’re still badass, don’t get me wrong, but nonetheless relatively attainable for most adults). Beyond that, we have to focus more intensely on a combination of our flows, flexibility, and strength. These advanced movements are now taking months to master, as opposed to mere hours or days of practice.

But that’s to be expected, friends! That’s going to happen! You’re honing in on skills now that are extremely specialized, and unless you were a child of the circus, your body is going to need to put in some extra work.
But this means, you might not get your insta worthy photos as often as you’re used to…. but trust me, when you nail that janeiro – it will be SO worth all of the extra effort and work. Not only just for your insta followers, but for YOU.

And last but not least… we can’t forget about the comparisons we make of ourselves to the one’s we follow on instagram and facebook.
Like c’mon Sarah Scott – how do you always look so flawlessly bangin’ on the pole? And Olga KODA?! I look like a baby fawn learning to walk attempting any of those movements.
It’s hard to forget that these people do in fact have flaws, just like all of us. Are they going to show them on instagram? Are they going to show the times that their flows don’t look so amazing – or the time that they bailed out of the trick? Doubtful.

Living in a world of instant gratification… we definitely tend to burnout when we’re no longer being instantly gratified.
Remember your reason for doing pole in the first place. Find that motivation, and stick with it.