I have never considered myself to be a good guitar player or even one who had the talent to be great. I always thought I had enough talent to play decently but never elite status. While I still don’t think I will reach elite status I feel more confident in my playing ability. This is due in large part to this current challenge. The first song I have been practicing has a fast strum for the last part. When I first started practicing the strumming I was slow. For the first few days I did not see any progress whatsoever, if anything I felt like I was regressing. Yet I continued on, pushing through that plateau and I finally started getting faster and more comfortable with the strumming. It is not completely clean or perfect but it amazed me how much better I have gotten.
Getting better, seeing that progress is a big motivator. With this challenge I have committed myself to practicing 30 minutes each day. Since seeing that progress I have found myself picking up the guitar and practicing even after having practiced my 30 minutes. I will be sitting, watching a few minutes of tv while I wind down for the evening and see my guitar laying there. I now have a tendency to pick it up and continue practicing even though I have already practiced my 30 minutes. That little bit of progress that I see in myself is enough to motivate me, making me wonder how good could I actually get. And it all started with pushing through that plateau.
When you think about your own passions and interests have you ever hit a plateau or wall? Have you ever quit prematurely because you didn’t see immediate progress? It can be a tough feeling when you work and work yet see no progress. While it may be true that you may have reached your potential in that particular pursuit I will never say you have. I would rather say that is the case in .0001% of cases, for the other 99.9999% it is a matter of pushing through. I would hate for you, for me, for anyone to stop short of their goal, to stop prematurely when all it takes is just a little more practice.
And when you finally start seeing progress it creates the desire to continue on and pursue it more. That motivation feeds itself – you progress because you practice and you practice because you progress. It is a cool feeling to see progress and see that desire feed itself. This is something I want for each of you – to have the pursuit of your passion create and sustain the motivation of pursuing that passion.
So, think about what things you have started in the past but stop pursuing them because you plateaued. Think on them and consider starting them again. You might be surprised how good you can become at them if you spend the time practicing. Pushing through is the key.
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