Positive thinking and a healthy self-image are essential to overcoming the stresses of music performance. Taking responsibility for how we view ourselves before taking to the stage will make all the difference. We must own up to the competitive environment that we create for each other and all of the judgement that we perceive.
Comparison
It’s easy to get down when comparing ourselves to others. One modern phenomenon that has recently become well documented, known to some as Facebook Feed Depression, exemplifies our radical misconceptions. If you have a Facebook account, then you’ve experienced the feeling: it happens as you scroll through all your friend’s posts noticing how great they look in their most recent #selfie, or what new promotion they’ve received and who recently just did a big gig with so and so’s quintet. All of a sudden, everyone else is doing so well and getting so much more out of life. We reach a low point in our journey’s valley making the assumption that others are better looking, more well endowed and in general capable of more. We project a perception of perfection onto others while neglecting our own strengths. Remember that perfection is an ideal. It doesn’t really exist as a personality trait or as a characteristic of a great performance. Expect to play better tomorrow than you did yesterday based on your preparation today.
Solution
Pull out the self-doubt weed by it’s root. Get comfortable with who you are and where you are at in your own life’s journey. Acknowledge the truth and repeat it out loud, “I am my only competition.” Recognize the end of a cycle of negative perception that creates predictions of failure. Brand your own ideas of success based on your goals. Create a plan and then begin taking the necessary steps forward towards accomplishment. Alter the rubric and begin to judge yourself with this one question alone, “What have I accomplished today in order to achieve my goals?”