Biologically, we’re not much different than we were thousands of years ago.
But my oh my, the world has changed…
We’re connected with more people through the internet than our minds were ever designed to connect with. So, we become unfocused and struggle to connect with people in a meaningful way.
We still associate the tribe with survival. Which leads us to check how many “likes” we’ve gotten, sign up for sports with ridiculous practice hours, or compete for entry into the most expensive schools.
After all, status and being a valued member of the tribe meant life or death millennia ago.
Our minds have a beautiful stress response system to save us from wild animals, enemies, or other dangers of nature.
Except, it goes off when we are overwhelmed with tasks we need to do, or we need to perform in public.
All of these things have made it harder than ever to learn a musical instrument.
We’ve lost our ability to focus for long stretches. We’re wired to go along with the crowd, which tends to not prioritize music education. And when we get stressed, we want to drop something. And music is the least threatening thing to let go.
The flip side is, those who can train their minds to function well in today’s world will have superpowers. And learning music is the perfect training ground.
Those who train their minds will not just learn to play an instrument…
They’ll focus longer than others will. And as a result, they’ll be more productive.
They’ll have the discipline and training to build a skill over time. And it’s not degrees that create better careers. It’s the ability to learn skills.
They’ll learn to be the calm, collected one when everyone else is panicking.
They’ll learn to connect with others on a deeper emotional level.
They’ll learn to say “no” to the things that are overwhelming, even if everyone else is doing them.
But most importantly…
They’ll learn to lead happy lives.
Which is what we all want for our kids to get out of education to begin with…right?