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Reflections on the New Year
I don’t know about you, but my email inbox has been inundated with emails about setting resolutions for the New Year. I subscribe to a fair number of inner growth type blogs, and the New Year is prime territory for such work. I love the support and the ideas that all of these blogs present, but sometimes all this emphasis on "making 2016 your best year yet" can feel overwhelming and like too much pressure. And here I am, adding to the chatter.
I find that too much of New Year resolution setting comes from a place of not good enough. "If only I can fix my body weight, practice routine, eating habits, technology addiction, then life will be good."
What if, instead, there is space to notice how you are succeeding, what is working, and at the same time, notice what would truly make you happier or more satisfied or more in alignment with your values?
Holiday Survival Guide for Musicians
Holiday Survival Guide for Musicians
I don’t know about you, but all the advice during the holidays of taking care of oneself never really worked for me. Who wants to pre-eat before going to a party, so you don’t eat the tasty stuff? And who has time to exercise during musician’s busiest month? Here are my suggestions for surviving the holidays, culled from ten-plus years experience of making hay while the sun shines. Or making money while the carols jingle.
Tis the season for Gratitude
During this holiday of gratitude, I want to thank you for reading my newsletters. I started writing these about a year and a half ago, and I had no idea how much I would enjoy the process, the learning, the experimentation, and the communications with you. I’m grateful to you, who is willing to read and ponder and respond to my thoughts. That is very meaningful to me. Thank you.
Gratitude is an energy of expansion and flow, while stress, anxiety, fear, fatigue all close us down. A few thoughts about how gratitude can help us in making music, especially as we approach our busy holiday season.
How do you react to feedback?
My last newsletter resonated with many of you, about judgment and perfectionism. I love how one reader said it “struck a rather dissonant chord”. I thought I’d write a bit more about perfectionism for those who related to this topic.
Perfectionism is similar to the Inner Critic, in that it often turns into all or nothing – either I passed, succeeded with no noticeable mistakes, or I failed because my mistakes were noticeable. The thing is, we are never perfect. We just aren’t. We’re human, and part of being human is making mistakes.
Are you doing your best?
I love Brené Brown. For a while I called her my best friend, the best friend she didn’t know she had. Brené is a researcher on shame, vulnerability, and whole-hearted living and her writings and teachings were instrumental in some serious internal change in my life.
What I've learned from the Musician's Mastermind
I started the Musician’s Mastermind last fall as an answer to some of my personal struggles as a freelance musician. I desired accountability for my personal projects, I really wanted someone to brainstorm with on a regular basis, and I wished for the community that one gets in many workplaces. I also have been drawn to inner growth/self help for a long time, so what started out as an accountability group became an experiment in sharing some inner work tools. Now that I am embarking on my second year of leading the Masterminds, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve learned, what is most useful, and what needs to fall by the wayside. Over three rounds of the Mastermind I have learned: