tonebase Tips: New Year, New Goals (ft. Francisco Chaves)
It’s that time of year again, when we formulate the goals that will set ourselves up for success in the next 365 days! But what are the correct goals that will lead to said success? In this week’s post from Francisco Chaves, a Student learns the goal-setting mindset of the Master. Don’t be like the student — learn from this interaction and have a successful 2019!
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Student: I have a new year’s resolution: I want to be a better guitarist!
Master: Great! But what does “better” actually mean? You already made one huge mistake my young pupil: You did not specify your goal. The more concrete our goals are, the more likely we will be of accomplishing them.
Student: Ok, then, I want to practice “X” hours a day, every day, in the next year!
Master: We are going in the right direction. That is a more concrete goal. However, practicing is just a means to an end. When you are on stage, nobody cares if you practiced one or ten hours a day. They only care if the music sounds good or not.
Student: I see… Then, I want to be able to play “X” piece!
Master: We are again in the right direction. But to make sure you really achieve that goal, why not set a deadline? Otherwise, you might go into the risk of delaying that goal indefinitely.
Student: Ok. Then, I want to play this piece at the end of the year!
Master: You have a good heart and will my student, but usually what happens is that people might procrastinate the entire year, and then, in the last month, incur stress and frustration, trying to achieve a big goal in a small time.
Student: So, what should I do then?
Master: That piece that you want to play. Let’s focus on that and analyze it. What is hard about it? Are there hard barre chords? Maybe it’s the arpeggios in the right hand? Or perhaps what makes it hard are the fast scales? In order to tackle the problem, you need to understand it. You need to understand “WHY” it is hard and “WHY” you cannot play it. — In short: Identifying problems.
Student: Tell me more, Master.
Master: Instead of tackling the piece, you make short, consistent deadlines tackling the problems in the piece, for example:
“My scales are not good and the piece uses a lot of scales up and down. Then, for one or two weeks I will focus on scales!”
Little by little, breaking down the process, bit by bit. Never forgetting your purpose, your goal. That goal — you set it yourself. Something that means something to you. But be realistic, know where you are. You need to set a goal that you believe you are going to achieve.
Student: What if I don’t believe that I’m going to achieve that goal?
Master: Then, be humble and set a smaller goal. Achieve and conquer it. This will improve your confidence. Then, set another small goal. Do this regularly. One day, that “impossible goal” will be in the realm of the “possible”.
Student: Thank you for the lesson Master! I wish you a happy new year!
Start the year out right with small, actionable goals that will compound and drive you towards success! For help putting these goals to work in your day-to-day routine, check out Thomas Viloteau’s lesson on Practicing and supercharge your productivity while the guitar is in your hands!
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***For a limited time, get $15 off your subscription when you start a free 14-day trial with the coupon code TONEBASE-BLOG***
