You know that feeling you get when you open an email and it's really long?
That signal from your brain as you face that wall of text that says, "Let's do this later?"
Believe it or not, that's a survival mechanism. Your brain burns calories. Concentrating burns calories. Your brain is also wired to survive. So, your brain saying "let's do this later" is actually trying to conserve itself.
I'm convinced the same thing happens in music.
Looking at a difficult passage, a new piece of music to learn, or a new skill to master...half the time, the brain auto-sends a signal that says, "We're busy, let's do this tomorrow."
The excuses let us off the hook. It's not our fault. Life got in the way.
But, there are two problems.
The first is that our brain's survival mechanism is pretty outdated. Yes, it was crucial for our survival thousands of years ago. But, life challenges aren't going to literally kill us anymore.
The second problem is, tomorrow never comes.
We've all missed something incredibly important an email we put off until tomorrow. And tens of thousands of students over the years have missed out on music because they let the brain's auto response to discomfort decide their actions.
But, there is another path. It requires a difficult wakeup call, and putting ourselves on the hook.
It's to take that signal in our brain and commandeer it for our own purposes.
We have to take that signal, and every time it goes off...
Do the extreme opposite.
Try it today.
As uncomfortable as it is, I find that it's often temporary. Once you take that first step, you will be glad you did it. It's rarely as scary as your brain tells you it is.
Seek out discomfort every chance you get, and a world of opportunity opens up to you.
Whether it be reading email, studying music, trying something brand new, or doing something different.
All that stands between you and wonder is fear. So learn to dance with it.
Don't hesitate.
We've been waiting for you.