You Don’t Have To Be Bad To Be Good

You don’t have to think you’re bad at something in order to get better at it.

For most of my piano playing life, I practiced in order to get better. I practiced because I thought I wasn’t good enough. This was the kind of mentality I was raised with. Become better because you’re not good enough. And why wasn’t I good enough? Because my mom was listening for the best people in the recitals or competitions and comparing me to them. It’s what most of the parents did. It’s what a lot of people do.

A few weeks ago I finally realized that I don’t have to think this way anymore and it has helped so many other aspects of my life become better. I can just be the pianist I am today with the skills I currently have. And I can still strive to become better. And, for another example, I can like the job I have and still want better. Some things in life don't have to hit rock bottom or be incredibly unsatisfactory in order to move on to something better.

Oddly enough, many people seem to be indoctrinated with the mentality that they need to look for how bad things are or how deficient they are in comparison to others. As someone who works in an educational institution and the performing arts industry I see this all the time. This kind of mindset perpetuates the hierarchical culture of the performing arts. Is it bad? Well, it empowers the few who benefit.

Think about how this plays out in other things. Most of advertising of products rely on telling you how bad things are. How bad you’re feeling. How bad your health is. How bad something about you will be unless you purchase this product.

Stepping outside of this dynamic is a practice. It’s tough some days but worth it for the rest of them 🙂