This is the time of year that I like to talk to my students about their goals for the upcoming year. It’s fun to talk out loud about what we want to accomplish. It reminds of why we are putting all this work into something.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day things of life, and piano is no different. We (hopefully) have a practice routine that we stick to. We sit down a couple times a week, play some scales and arpeggios, work on playing chords and then play through some songs. It’s easy to forget why we are doing it?
So every once in a while it’s important to stop and think about what we are trying to accomplish. And the beginning of a new year is a great time to do that!
Many of the people I talk to like to say they don’t make new year’s resolutions because it is a waste of time. And although I understand the sentiment, I couldn’t disagree more. I think the word “resolution” has been so overused that it is meaningless to us now. So many of us have promised to make big changes in January and then by February have given up. If you do this enough years in a row, you get bitter and you stop believing in “resolutions.”
But “resolution” is just a word. What if we changed it to “goals?” Would you be willing to make some New Year’s goals? I think everyone would agree that in order to be successful, we need to set goals. It just so happens that the beginning of a new year is a good time to do it, since it gives us the feeling of a fresh start.
Don’t be afraid to make some big goals this year. This is the time to get healthy, to make more money, spend more time with family, or take piano lessons. These are resolutions worth making, and we should never be afraid to set new goals. No matter how many times we have failed in the past, this is a new year. A new chance. It’s okay if we didn’t follow through in the past. It’s only because we are human beings with busy lives. We need to let that guilt go and start again. And a new year is the perfect time to start again!
So what are your New Year’s goals going to be?