It's time for Billy's piano lesson. What adventure and possibilities await the next 45 minutes? Let's find out.
Teacher: Alright Billy, far did you get into your pieces this week?
Billy: Oh, I just polished up the parts that I knew. I didn't go further.
Teacher: (holding back tears of disappointment) Okay, let's hear it.
Billy: (proceeds to play what he knows exactly the same as it sounded last week)
Every student has a legitimately tough week. A week, maybe two of this will be okay.
But then, we blink and a month passes. Maybe a few months. Maybe even half a year. Like the movie Groundhog's Day, we end up polishing the good parts every lesson until they aren't even fun to hear anymore.
The new, untouched parts? Eternally left for a tomorrow that may never come...
It's in our nature to avoid the new parts. I certainly did it as a student, all the way through college. But, I mourn the progress I could have made. The skills I could have gained had I forged ahead into the uncomfortable, unknown territory of the new parts.
Getting into the new parts is uncomfortable. It requires focus, patience, and time. It requires repetition, problem solving and critical thinking.
But, diving into the new parts on a daily basis is the fastest road to awesome.
Sticking with the good parts feels nice right now. But, like enjoying an entire tub of ice cream in your late 50's, there is a price to be paid.
The price of taking an embarrassingly long time to finish learning one piece of music. The price of denying yourself skill building. The price of delaying your trip to the world of sounding awesome.
Not just in music. But in life.
To progress, we must seek discomfort. We have to dive into the new parts. We need to forge into the unknown.
That is where the real growth happens.