Practice makes Permanent

How many countless hours have I spent working out passages of music that last mere seconds for the purpose of a single performance? As a professional musician, it is expected that I display a level of excellence that is beyond reproach, that I set an example to my students and honor my colleagues and my orchestra by upholding the highest standards. Practicing a shift over and over until it becomes natural and effortless…sorting out fingerings, trying new ones until the expression and timbre are just right for the mood I’m trying to create…working out chords until I’m literally in pain from the exertion. It’s all part of the job, and I have been working at this since the age of 5. Mastering the violin is never a “been there, done that” kind of thing, either. It is a relentless pursuit. The law of entropy is strong. The skills easily slip, the intonation always needing more work. It’s an endless swim upstream, and no, perfection is never there, because once you reach higher, your view of what is possible becomes bigger, your standards are raised yet again. I was wondering this week what it would be like to approach other parts of my life like I do when I learn a new concerto? When I learn a new piece, first, I get the music. Then I listen to how the masters play it. Then I start very slowly and carefully, bar by bar, phrase by phrase. I want to forge a path of success and correctness. I tell my students these things all the time!! How I leave passage is a signal to my entire being that that is what I want to keep doing, so I better leave it how I really want it. Practicing and repetition make permanent, so I want to be sure to craft wisely. It’s like making tire marks in the dirt. We will form ruts, so let’s make sure those ruts are taking us the direction we ultimately want to go. The goal of practice isn’t to finally get something right, it’s to make sure you can’t get it wrong! I have to be keenly aware of what it is I want. I have to earnestly seek what I dream of with all my being and expect it and look for it. I have to also be keenly aware of where I am and what I am currently doing. No going through the motions and just putting in time. Anything unconscious can easily lead me astray, and it takes much MORE effort to undo than to do it correctly from the beginning. I have to believe I can. I have to hear, see, feel, imagine myself making THAT beautiful sound. While I am playing, I have to love it, to believe in it, otherwise how will anyone else feel what the music from my soul can do? I have a gift that I desperately want to share with others, a powerful healing and miraculous gift. It is a responsibility to do everything I possibly can to share it in the most meaningful way possible, hence the hours and hours spent on mere seconds. I have been doing this with my violin for literally decades. But only recently have I considered learning and applying similar skills for how to create health, inside and out. I have often tried the latest fad, the latest remedy being advertised to fix something and give it a few weeks to see if it works for me, but usually give up after a few weeks or even days. There are not many things I have devoted months and months to consistently doing. That’s because I never learned the skills for HOW. To do something consistently, it must become a habit, automatic, second nature. If it’s too hard or too complicated, we won’t stick with it, we will either do it poorly or give up after a short time. Think about how we are so motivated at the beginning of every new year to get to the gym, exercise, lose weight. We go to the gym and do a GREAT workout. We impress ourselves with how many reps we can still do even though it’s been 11 months since we’ve stepped through the door. The next day we wake up so sore we can barely move let alone head back and try to get in the routine of going to the gym every day. Same with going on a diet. We find ourselves trying to do something so difficult with all the extra prep work and extra will power with not much reward, especially after 15 days in when positivity initial results start to wane. It’s so easy to lose interest and willpower when you are working SO hard at something and there’s barely anything to show for it! No wonder we give up! We all start out with some amount of will power, then when what we are doing starts to work, we get what’s called thrill power. But both of those will wane, and that’s when we need SKILL POWER. Automating habits is what will create that. One little habit at a time, easy, simple doable every single day. Do you think twice about brushing your teeth? The habit is installed. It’s automatic. About to leave the house? Brush your teeth. About to go to bed? Brush your teeth. Just wake up? Brush your teeth. You have a cue, an action and a reward (both immediate and longterm). The same is applied to all habits we want to automate. Just like when I practice, if I tried to get through the whole piece the first day at full tempo, I would feel so discouraged and probably have less faith the next time I approached playing it that it was going to be any good, I would even feel intimidated or afraid of it. We must approach things with ease and at ease to make them stick. We must be able to carry them out consistently, even on our worst day. We must hold to standards and have boundaries that we honor. We create self respect when we keep our promises to ourselves. When I let intonation slide in a passage because I just don’t feel like dealing with it ONE MORE TIME, I have just desensitized myself to being able to hear it as well the next time it might happen. If I promise myself I’m going to walk every morning and every night and that on my worst and busiest days I can find at least 5 minutes to walk morning and night but allow myself to skip, I have dishonored my promise and disrespect toward self starts to creep in. The opposite happens when I show up for myself and keep the promises I have made. What’s important to me? What do I really want? Why do I really want it? Where am I now? What are the differences between the two? Bite off little chunks every day that inch me toward that goal, add a sliver more each day, don’t break my promise, celebrating each win along the way. If all I ever listened to was myself practicing the violin, I would never improve. I MUST listen and glean wisdom and inspiration from masters who have paved the way. The same is true for my health, my spiritual life, my relationships, my mental health. Seek out those who are further down the path. Be a sponge. We are most like who we are surrounded by. I have to intentionally seek out people who I aspire to be like. I also need feedback. If I only ever played for myself and didn’t allow correction and guidance and encouragement in, I would lack the accountability I needed from week to week. Getting feedback and input from someone regularly who knows more than me about something is essential.

Having a plan that has been proven to work is essential. I purchase music when I want to learn a piece of music. I’m not going blind. I want to base the choices I make for my health inside and out on something that is rock solid, proven, clear and comprehensive. If working on my spiritual life, having a Bible handy is essential If I actually want to know what God is trying to teach me. Being willing to study and journal and self reflect and examine and investigate, keep notes, keep track, it’s all essential.

What choices I make daily, throughout the day, even minute by minute are worth examining. Am I living the life I want? What IS the life I want? Why do I want it? Where am I now? What am I actually doing? What must I do to go from here to there? What small step am I willing to do each and every day to head toward that goal?

I must believe I can do it, and until I do, I must surround myself with those who believe I can and who can propel me forward, not hold me back, enable me to stay where it’s not best for me.

Just like I create ruts in my playing, I create ruts in my living. Where are those ruts taking me? Toward a life I really want full of energy and vitality and wholeness? Or toward pain and disease and brokenness? If we want a different future, we must start doing something different than we have been doing. Examine. Really see, really know yourself. You can choose what’s next. Excuses are for those who want to stay stuck. If you want to be free, just start taking one step at a time. We are here for a purpose. We have been given gifts to share. To be the full expression of the best version of ourselves, we must relentlessly and earnestly pursue who we believe we are meant to be. Much of the time it is getting out of our own way, stripping off the lies and cords that are binding us up. Releasing the fears and guilt that interfere with being here, right now. What you bring to this moment is all we ever have and will ever have. Practice being fully present. That is when your presence will indeed be the greatest gift.

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As I learn and grow, I want to be able to share with others the hope I have found, the blessings God has allowed, the wisdom I have come by. If what I share resonates with even one person, it is worth it.

I am passionate about finding purpose on this planet, through my music AND through my life journey. I am passionate about being healthy, inside and out. Being healthy has a ripple affect touching everything in my life. I am proud, now, that part of my identity is putting my health first and sharing that with others. Paying it forward and sharing what I have found is simply a reflex that I literally cannot help!

Always know, you can reach out any time. I am thrilled to share what I have learned with you. I now coach people with their own health journeys. It is thrilling to watch others' lives transform as they seek to create health for themselves. Join me! Want to learn more?

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