Derek Hough Quote

I’m an overthinker. Many of us are. My mind gets racing a thousand miles a minute and I get anxious about my work, my career, or where I need to be in thirty minutes. Every day I need to shut down this machine and simply Be aware of your breathing, really feel your breath going in, going out. Be aware of the feeling of the cloth on your shirt. Be aware of the grip on the steering wheel. Tell yourself--out oud--that the only thing that truly exists right now is this exact moment, and enjoy it, swim in it. Someone once said that your mind is like a raging river that’s full of debris, and when you’re floating in this river, you reach out and try to grab the branches and rocks. But what if you could climb onto the bank and watch the river? Suddenly you’re in a calm place.Maybe it sounds like a cliché to say, Stop and smell the roses, so I’ll tell you this instead: Stop and watch the sunset. Just the other night, driving home in L.A., I was struck by how beautiful the sky was--a dark blue canvas painted with strokes of bright orange and red. It was truly one of the most glorious sunsets I’d ever seen. I was stuck in traffic, worrying about one thing or another, and I just gazed out the window and drank it in. I let it fill my soul and inspire me. The world stopped revolving for just that split second, and my mind was still and calm.And to think, I could have missed it.

Derek Hough

I’m an overthinker. Many of us are. My mind gets racing a thousand miles a minute and I get anxious about my work, my career, or where I need to be in thirty minutes. Every day I need to shut down this machine and simply Be aware of your breathing, really feel your breath going in, going out. Be aware of the feeling of the cloth on your shirt. Be aware of the grip on the steering wheel. Tell yourself--out oud--that the only thing that truly exists right now is this exact moment, and enjoy it, swim in it. Someone once said that your mind is like a raging river that’s full of debris, and when you’re floating in this river, you reach out and try to grab the branches and rocks. But what if you could climb onto the bank and watch the river? Suddenly you’re in a calm place.Maybe it sounds like a cliché to say, Stop and smell the roses, so I’ll tell you this instead: Stop and watch the sunset. Just the other night, driving home in L.A., I was struck by how beautiful the sky was--a dark blue canvas painted with strokes of bright orange and red. It was truly one of the most glorious sunsets I’d ever seen. I was stuck in traffic, worrying about one thing or another, and I just gazed out the window and drank it in. I let it fill my soul and inspire me. The world stopped revolving for just that split second, and my mind was still and calm.And to think, I could have missed it.

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About Derek Hough

Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the ABC dance competition series Dancing with the Stars, winning the show a record-breaking six times with his celebrity partners. For his work, Hough received 14 nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography, winning the award 4 times. Hough later became a judge on the series beginning with its 29th season.
Hough has also appeared as an actor on stage, appearing at the West End premiere of Footloose: The Musical at the Novello Theatre and as well as the 2015 New York Spring Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. In film and television, he has starred in the film Make Your Move and had a recurring role in the ABC musical-drama Nashville. In 2016, he appeared as Corny Collins in NBC's live musical TV-production of Hairspray Live!
From 2017 to 2020, Hough served as a judge on the NBC dance competition series World of Dance.