Beginning with the End in Mind

I've been asking a lot of students how they handle challenges these days. The responses are varied, but there is one I love that comes up again and again.

Some students think ahead to what life will be like when the challenge has been conquered. Better yet, they will think ahead to what it will be like when the piece has been performed. Exercising the imagination like this gives them the drive to forge ahead today.

Other students think ahead to what life will look like tomorrow if they procrastinate today. Realizing that tomorrow will be no easier than today, they make the practice happen today.

They're glad they did.

This reminds me of the marathon runner who succeeds versus the one who quits.

Most marathoners know they're going to hit a wall at some point. 

A point where they will want to throw in the towel.

The ones who power through anticipate this ahead of time and plan what they will do. How they will handle it.

They aren't crazy people, though. They also have a mental criteria of, "If X, Y, and Z happen, I will have to stop because I'm risking a severe injury."

Yet again...planning ahead.

Beginning with the end in mind is never a bad idea.

Not only the end, but the chaotic middle. Anticipating the challenges and how we will handle them. Imagining the excitement of crossing the metaphorical finish line.

It's much more fun than winging it. More often than not, that can send us in a panic when we hit the unexpected.

Begin with the end in mind, reverse engineer it, and that will chart your course. In music and in all things life.

Try it today.

What do you want the end of today to look like? What do you need to do to get there? What's that challenge you know you'll face? How will you handle it?

Write it down. Tonight, read what you wrote and see how it felt.

Then, come back and tell us how you did.