On Doing ‘This’ Versus Doing ‘That’

Many of us today have difficulty staying on track with practice. Milstein told me it was easy for him to practice when he was young because there was literally nothing else to do in Odessa in those days.

We, on the other hand, are bombarded with options for spending our time. Some are relatively easy to say no to; television, for instance. Others are not. Amongst those, are the things we must do; raising children, getting food on the table, and taking out the trash. Everyone must do them, and for good reason.

But there is a class of things that clamor for our time that aren’t essential, but are, for a very powerful emotion, difficult to say no to.

They are the ones that arouse feelings of guilt if we don’t act on them.

Answering chit-chat emails from friends and family, volunteering for this or that committee, staying ‘in the know’ of current news events; these are the ones that require not just discipline but courage as well to stand up to.

Ask yourself this question, ‘Does reading ‘Time’ magazine, or writing an email to ‘so and so’, or setting up chairs for ‘such and such’ fundraiser give me the same spiritual, intellectual, and physical reward as mastering my chosen instrument?’

If so, you can ‘advance token to GO and collect $200.00,’ as the Monopoly card says. If not, steel your courage and banish the guilt that’s compelling you to spend time in ways that don’t serve your ultimate goal.

The rewards can be enormous.

More quality personal time, more peace of mind, less stress, AND the ability to pick up your fiddle and really change other peoples life experience with the music that flows through it.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Once you have created the space for more quality time on the violin, there is no better way to enjoy it than by mastering the practice techniques and playing fundamentals contained in Violin Mastery Mastercalss/Seminar.