Are You Committed? Or Just Interested?

By Ernie Mansfield – May 2011

Many people tell me their stories of how they always wanted to play piano. Or, how they used to take lessons when they were a kid. Or, how they were taking lessons, but then something came up, and they had to stop. Or, they don’t have the money for lessons. Or, they don’t have the time.

And then there are people who call and say they are ready to start lessons. So we just do it.

See the difference? Are you committed, or just interested?

If you are really committed to learning the piano (or any instrument), then now is as perfect a time as any time to start. And furthermore, spending some time practicing will not be a problem. You will just do it. It can be done.

Business coach Steve Chandler, in his book, “Time Warrior”, says: “When I work with a client who is ‘overwhelmed’ with too much to do and not enough time to do it I will often ask them to give me an example of one of the things they are burdened by every time they think about it. The client will give me an example and we will do that thing right now. The client is amazed.”

If you are committed to learning an instrument, then you will find the time to learn it.

Of course, there are many factors that make our lives complicated, and very busy. I’m not saying that our lives are simple. But what I can tell you is that what most adults do is think too much, and, as Chandler says, “then they compound the problem by studying the feelings that come up for them as a result of that thinking. All this time that they have been thinking and feeling they could have been taking action.”

For example, many adults already have a notion of what a great pianist is. They listen to music, and they have their musical idols. And when they start to compare themselves to that “idol”, they become defeated. But the reality is: when you get away from the comparisons and start to just play, you get exercise from doing it, and you also get pleasure and enjoyment out of it.

Most adults can learn from observing young children. Many children will just do things, like learning to play piano, because they just want to, and they don’t have any pre-conceived notions or standards about how good they have to be, or how bad they might be compared to someone else.

Take a lesson from a child, and start learning something new today!