Our culture has a do-it-all-all-the-time mentality, and musicians embrace the high octane version. The great challenge of managing doing remains that we spend so many years doing so much to the point where we begin to choose and exercise discernment around our time we can end up feeling so guilty it’s paralyzing. It helps to think of moderation and to clearly label what value and necessity activities hold.

If we all continue climbing for the one peak our training presented as Mt. Everest we risk remaining blind to the beauty of the entire range and susceptible to the dangers and pitfalls brought on by too many hikers using one path.

Best Books of 2023

The way being busy makes us feel and what we need to do to cope with high-demand periods of work will change as we get older and more experienced. Intentional planning can create success and prevent burnout.

Four books on process for creatives with work to do.

Our lifetimes are long, and it’s absolutely worth the effort it takes to address the things that make us feel anxious. Because it’s so acceptable to discuss stress and anxiety now, there is also a comfort in relating to everyone having it rather than taking the sometimes tedious and mundane steps toward overcoming what stands in our way.

A love letter to my practice to articulate a heartfelt gratitude.

If pain blocks awareness, then maybe the reverse is true - building awareness builds proprioception, which in turn builds the effectiveness and ease of the skills we work so hard to develop and maintain.

What we are willing to lovingly layer into our every day life with consistency is what will create the greatest impact in our well being long term.

By becoming more acquainted with ourselves we become more efficient observers and more accurate and efficient managers of our construction.

When was the last time you enjoyed a little silence?

Building a base level awareness of what’s happening in our bodies is the first step toward finding neutral and creating efficiency. 

Mindfulness and mindfulness meditation are huge, broad topics. So how can we take these far-reaching concepts and pare them down to fit our specific needs as musicians, while still respecting these disciplines and what they have to teach us?

What does the breath have to do with finding a flow state?

A warm up is the signal to your body and mind that it’s time to wake up and do what you have trained to do.  

Best books of 2022

Taking a step back and challenging your view, looking at things from a new angle, checking your intentions, and encouraging yourself not to cling are just as valuable as fixing the problem. They create lightness and space around whatever it is we are dealing with, and that’s helpful for all of us.

The next time you feel motivated to critique your past behaviors, consider also what you did right. Could you list both things and see them as just that…a list? Objective data on the situation that might come in handy later is a lot easier to work with in the future than a late night binge of self judgement.