Perspective

I can't believe it's been almost a month and a half since I last posted an article here. You have to forgive me. As a military wife, I've been charged with planning a move all by myself while also practicing as much as possible in preparation for various auditions and a competition. Once the move is over, I will have more time to write and post on a regular basis.

With everything in a chaotic state, I've lost my perspective over the past two weeks. In addition to my perspective, I also lost my mojo to practice. So with an audition next week glaring at me and a competition the week after in addition to presenting my first ever workshop, it's easy to see why I lost perspective.

My advice to myself and to all of you reading, when life throws you a major life change while also involved in career pursuits, don't compare yourself to others. I certainly don't follow the status quo musician route. I'm not going to have the amount of time to practice like I wanted. I like to keep negative thoughts flowing through my head. Instead of looking at my situation practically, it's much easier to shut down and focus on other things.

Planning, efficiency, and structure can get you through these phases. Have conversations with yourself (out loud, even) about your expectations and goals. Be open enough to change and adapt your goals if your life is constantly changing as it is for me. For me, my goal for my audition and competition has changed from winning to one of gratitude for the opportunity to perform and use these as experience building events. Between now and then, my goals could change again. Even if I don't win, I will celebrate the accomplishment of working through my personal challenge.

Adaptability and creativity make us unique as musicians. Don't let your perspective interfere in those processes. By working through major life events, you will discover strength that you didn't know you had and you will be able to meet future challenges in an even more productive way.

Perspective counts.