Hello Reader,
If you're on Spring Break, I hope you are taking the opportunity to rest, rethink, regroup and recharge. And it's always nice to get a laugh (thanks to the witty 360 team)!
So I had a chance to guest teach 2 students over the weekend... and we began with the usual, tell-me-about-you conversation to get a little context for the lesson. And both plunged right into sharing about being totally stressed out.
One had a crisis of is all this work going to pay off, with variations of What's this all for? Will I ever make it?
And the other was in a deep rut, dreading practice. I never want to open my case. I feel like I need to do 5 hours, and I can't even do 1. I'll never improve.
Yikes! But also, totally natural.
As you all know if you're reading these weeklies, I believe
the magic is in the threads
that hold our practice and career building together.
And I love teasing apart the thoughts and beliefs we sew our lives together with! So we did just that...
It all came down to these things
- changing the thoughts that echo around in your head
- finding the next right action
- making a pact with yourself, instead of a big lofty goal
For the career-crisis student who isn't through undergrad but is already starting to get gigs, defining helpful vs. unhelpful, true vs. imaginary thoughts breaks through the paralzying inaction. His pact: a) deliberately seek a supportive environment and b) reach out to local music directors.
For the 2nd year I'm-hating-practice student, setting practice chunks alongside detaching from the outcome helps release the pressure of each practice session needing to be "epic". Her pact: using practice tools and games in 25-minute increments. Each 25-mintues, she'll do 3 small sections of playing.
What pact will you make in your life, career, or practice?
Mindset March is still going strong, but I hope the work you do this month will carry you through going forward!
Next month, we're shifting to another central foundational topic, Portfolio. Yep, April is Portfolio month and as we build out the content now, please send questions and requests my way!
Have a great week,
Ixi
p.s. We have a wealth of free resources, paid courses and teachers guiding musicians toward a fulfilling career and balanced life in music. What do you need? Hit reply and we'll direct you to the right place!
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