Everyone in the world knows you need to practice to get better.
If you want to be a better worship leader, you have to practice. If you want to be a better drummer, you must practice. If you want to be good at just about anything, it will take practice.
But why do some really practice and others don’t?
I have friends who can do a lot because they’ve worked hard to develop skills. I know others who seem to avoid anything that is difficult and therefore don’t have many skills.
Why do we avoid practice?
Maybe you’re standing at that crossroads. You’d love to develop your music. You really want to be a musician. You always have. But you’re just not sure you have what it takes. Not sure if you can put in the time. Not sure if you are gifted enough.
A few weeks ago we talked about the steady drip of hard work. Today, I want to push you a little further.
I want to reveal a slight mental shift that can make a massive difference. You need a new perspective on hard work.
Change Your Perspective
For the most part, nobody really likes to work hard. We long for our two week’s vacation. We live for Christmas. We simply cannot wait for time off work.
We endure hard work because we know we have to.
We don’t naturally seek out difficulty or challenging environments. But the truth is, without the grind there is no growth. We grow through stretching. Difficulty demands a response: either we’ll submit and go to the next level, or we’ll give up.
If you’re life’s motto is to seek out what’s easy, you won’t grow.
But what if you began to look upon the hard work you need to do as play? What if you turned it into a game? We all love play. We all love games.
When it comes to practicing, wouldn’t you love to have a fire in your eyes? An enthusiasm in your step? What if you could look forward to the difficult parts of practice – the things you can’t do. This is the secret of going pro.
My Story
This is my story. When I started to take piano lessons, I hated it. Piano wasn’t cool. Football was cool. But I took piano lessons.
I didn’t tell anybody, I never practiced, and I wanted out. But my parents said no. A seven year old doesn’t have much say in his life. And for that, I’m grateful.
I continued to tolerate lessons until something happened. I watched a concert of a piano player. He was probably 16 years old and you could tell he loved it. He swayed. He lifted his arms. He rocked that piano like I had never seen before. He fully expressed himself. I was changed.
I began to work hard and look forward to working hard because I could see the difference it was making. I placed myself in a story that was bigger than the major scales in front of me. I had a vision.
And it wasn’t necessarily a vision to be the best. Or to be a concert pianist. Or to be famous. It was a vision to love music. And that’s where it begins.
Do you have a vision to love music and make beautiful sounds?
I didn’t just love getting good. I began to love the process of getting good.
Now, I see that God was preparing me for the current season of my life.
He wants to prepare your craft for those moments when He desires to use you. Start where you are, with what you have.
Are you ready?
What’s Next For You?
Let me leave you with a question. And I would love your feedback.
What would enthusiastic practice make possible for you?
What would happen if you embraced the painful process and stopped procrastinating on the hard work you know you need to do?
How could turn your hard work into a joy, a game, a fun activity rather than something you dread?
Let us know in the comments.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
Thank you so much for this and every blog you post! This hit me hard today! For so long, I’ve been just good enough to get by and haven’t pushed myself the max and thus have put myself in a position of mediocrity and I’ve almost started to lose my love for music. Thank you so much for always challenging and teaching me 🙂
Rock it, Caleb!
When I first read the title, I was tracking a professionals “practice” like a dentist or doctors office….. I am not a professional musician, so for me my worship is in areas I excell in for other reasons and purposes. So if it is groundskeeping and landscaping for instance, if I am not in the practice of working hard at it regularly and evaluating what is working and what needs repair, replacement, watering, pruning, coordinating, etc. then things are not going so well. I think you are aiming more at the spirit of the practice and i used to be on a worship team some decades ago, the practice often there were way awesomer than the “worship service” or they were really dull and frustrating. I remember the level of engagement of everyone in the room is huge, maybe it is more the unity of engagement, even if that look different by person, and whether there is distraction or attraction toward Him within what we are doing where we are. And that might say a lot about where my heart and head were sometimes. It is hard to sing in front of folks when your heart is wrecked or when it is wanting to be closed up. I am grateful He is in the practice of forming and mending and breaking and bonding us together for His Purposes. Tough as Nails.
As Creative Arts Pastor, Pianist, and Piano Teacher….I really appreciated your comments today! It is very difficult to get students and adults to practice their art. We do have to see beyond the laborious task at hand and get a picture of what we can become in The Lord. If you don’t mind I am printing this out and planning to use it with piano students as well as worship team. Thank you. I look forward to your blogs on a regular basis
Go for it, Marthana! I appreciate you sharing 🙂 As a teacher myself, I’m finding that my role is less about “getting them to practice” and more about inspiring them see the beauty and story within music. Hope to connect some more!
Over the past few months I have gotten away from leaning on the crutch of the music stand. I still have some chord sheets on the ground but I wanted to memorize the music and words. I am basically forcing myself to rely on my memory and not on a piece of paper. It is helping my engage with the congregation better but also it is helping me hone my gifting even more. I am noticing improvement for sure.
John – that is huge, man! Is your team doing this now, too? 🙂