092109 Tip of Week
Let’s face it, there are some aspects of running a successful artistic career that you simply can’t control. Various issues seem to overwhelm and interfere with your progress. Rather than sit around and worry about these challenges, take a different tactic.
Despite the seemingly uncontrollable nature of things, you can control one aspect: YOUR reaction. Instead of wallowing in self-pity and playing the blame game, you can choose how you deal with these issues. Focus your reaction to the positive ways you can work to overcome whatever is blocking your journey.
Maybe this boils down to ‘make the best with what you already have and stop worrying about what’s missing’ or a similarly trite platitude. Maybe there’s more to this than that simple advice. Think about it.
We all suffer a lot of stresses, some huge and life-changing and others mind-numbingly trivial. Our reaction is often a negative and detrimental emotional response. That’s counter-productive. When confronted with these stresses, take a moment to step away and calm your initial response. Then, search for a more rational stance.
What you want to do is channel misguided energy into a resource you can call upon. So, jettison those aspects of life that are beyond your control and instead use the strength you gain to move ahead.
4 Comments
Wow, Jeffrey! You have hit the nail on the head (as always).. and from my vantage point of having been in the position of being unemployed from several non-music “day job” careers, I’ve found this to be so true! It is so important to keep things positive. I couldn’t emphasize that enough to anyone I know. My latest day job has been as a hospital chaplain, and I’ve spread that message as much as I can.
I know from experience that keeping things positive keeps them going upward, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Letting things get to you provides a momentum for a downward spiral of things in our lives, and attracts “like” to it… same with positive, it attracts “like” energy. For instance, I lost everything, including one of your books… when I lost my house in a fire. Insurance did not cover the circumstances… I could have wallowed in that, but remarkably I got through it and am continuing to move in a positive direction, always. It was not an “easy haul” all the time, and I did occasionally find myself in a negative frame of mind, but I could see and feel that when I did, it continued to spiral downward, and that I had to make an effort to keep things positive.
Something I really found important during these times was to be attentive to detail. For instance, a friend pointed out some typos in my resume during this time after the fire. I had wondered why I wasn’t getting any calls. This explained it. And it happened because I didn’t pay attention to detail, because I had started to ‘wallow’ a bit.
Thanks for your great message. It’s one of my missions in life to spread this “news” to people, to keep focused on the positive and minimize the negative.
By the way, when my contract ended as a chaplain just a month ago, I went back to piano teaching and have never been happier. I have more time now to work on my midi and other projects. It was a risk to decide to switch gears to private teaching, but it’s worked out better than I could have hoped.
Pam,
THANK YOU for sharing your inspiring story. It’s nice to know that these thoughts have some appeal and make an impact on readers.
Dear Jeffrey,
I’ve picked up so many useful tips and over the last few weeks and have come across great opportunities in the film/TV business through your networking tips.
Thank you again for your work and I’ll be checking out your other books in the future.
Catherine – that’s great. Thanks for your support!