“I’m so busy. Who has time to practice?” So says the 45-year-old clarinet student who is a commercial loan officer by day with a husband and 2 teenage sons at home.

“Between soccer practice, debate team meetings, and band rehearsals, I’m hard-pressed to find 30 minutes for playing my tenor.” That from the 9th grade sax student.

This is reality for many aspiring musicians. And we all know that practice – regular practice – is essential to learning an instrument and attaining some level of proficiency that enables you to play the music you enjoy.

A lot of research on the benefits of studying music makes the point that becoming a musician gives you discipline and commitment, among many other fine benefits. But do we start out with those qualities? Not usually. However, we do start with inspiration, motivation, and desire.  It’s from these qualities that the discipline comes.

Positive Spiral

The more you practice, the better you sound. The better you sound, the more you want to practice.

I was a daily walker for quite some time. Then we had some seriously rainy months here in Portland (Oregon) and I stopped. When I became aware that I was feeling out of shape and had low energy, I knew I had to get my walking habit back. The motivation that got me back out was wanting to improve my physical health and feel more energized.

I had to force myself out the door the first two or three times, and promise myself some pleasant reward after completing my walk. I also made a walking date with a friend. Another time I joined a group of 20 folks in the neighborhood on a city-sponsored walk.  By the sixth day, I woke up feeling excited and looking forward to walking again. I noticed my legs felt stronger as I was bounding up and down the stairs in my home.

Quick Results in Only 6 Days!

Only six days of walking and already my mood was elevated and my body was stronger. The lesson to take away from this experience? Positive momentum can be generated with daily practice. And it only takes a few days to get it going. By definition, momentum is that energy generated by an initial force. Then it self-perpetuates, it continues moving. You would have to expend a different force to stop the momentum. So don’t do that! Get your daily practice momentum going and let its energy feed your continued practice.

Draw upon your persistence, inspiration, laughter, and commitment. They reside within each of us, ready to be taken out and given a chance to flourish.

The Book Of Qualities

Writing about these qualities reminds me of a book I was given many years ago; The Book of Qualities by J. Ruth Gendler. In her book, Gendler writes short personality profiles for 74 different qualities. Reading the profiles, I gain a fresh and unexpected way of seeing that quality in myself.

I’d like to share the profile for Commitment from Gendler’s book:

Commitment has kind eyes. He wears sturdy shoes. Everything is very vivid when he is around. It is wonderful to sit and have lunch in his gardens around harvest time. You can taste in the vegetables that the soil has been cared for.

Because Commitment is so serious, he loves clowns and balloons and fools and limericks. He has four daughters, grown now, but when they were little they always took him to the circus.

There is something special about the way Commitment gazes at the new moon. I wish I knew how to explain it. He is such a simple man, and yet he is mysterious. He is more generous than most people. His heart is open. He is not afraid of life. He is married to joy.

I enjoy the juxtaposition of the serious and folly in Commitment’s life. It supports my current practice of bringing playfulness to my … well, play!

Sturdy shoes make me think that Commitment doesn’t dawdle. He is — er, committed.

How does this original outlook on Commitment affect your practice patterns? Got any Gathering Momentum stories to share?

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