I did a crazy thing! It feels crazy to me anyway. Are you a New Years Resolution kind of person? I tend not to set them because if I do, and then don’t keep to them it makes me feel like a failure. It’s typically the same with setting goals. But this year, I have some very specific resolutions or goals to work towards.
While I had Covid over Christmas, I was feeling discouraged about my piano playing, and about life generally. So I took a risk. I told a man, who is in charge of concerts locally, that I would give a piano concert. All of a sudden I have something to work for in my playing. The piece I intend to perform takes me about 40 minutes at the moment. My intention is to get it down to 10 minutes or less. So each day I practice a page and time myself playing it in the evening. I’m happy to report that I’ve been improving by one minute per day.
Why is this crazy? Because I never play the piano to anyone, not even my family. It is the last area of my life where I still feel terrified. But I know that if I have overcome my fears of acting, dancing, and singing in front of people, I can overcome this fear of piano performance too. And I know that we only grow when we put ourselves out of our comfort zones.
How is this relevant to you? Playing an instrument is the perfect metaphor for attaining any kind of goal. You have to break it down into small chunks. And it takes practice every day. It is more important to do little and often rather to do huge bursts of massive action. Sometimes massive action is also required.
So let me ask you a question. What resolutions or goals do you have for the coming year? What crazy and courageous decision can you make to get out of your comfort zone? I would love to hear about it.
