What is Holding You Back?

What is holding you back as a guitarist?

You’ve taken the lessons, you’ve studied the materials, you’ve put the practice time in… but you’re not where you want to be.  Why?

If you wish to progress and be successful, you must know what you’re trying to do, model what works, and you must maintain your focus to that end. 

There are things that both you and I do that, if someone challenged it, we would defend it as if our lives depended on it.  Yet, if we were to honestly look at the reasons behind those things, we would find that they are utter nonsense.  We started doing them as a reaction against something else or as a result of random feedback we got by a variety of different people growing up.  These things became the weakest link in the chain of our ambitions.  

Make no mistake, there is something holding you back right now.  It might be a fatal flaw, or it might just be a minor hindrance, but it’s putting an arbitrary ceiling on your potential. 

And you can do something about it right now!

You can only apply so much divided energy among many different goals and ideas.  So be sure to know exactly what your goals are as a guitarist and break them down into a hierarchy of importance. 

You should not be defined by your goals and interests!  If you find yourself feeling self-righteousness, identity definition, self-importance or defensiveness surrounding any ideas or goals – seriously reevaluate them.  There is most likely something completely ridiculous behind those feelings and, therefore, the goal or idea.  

Get uncomfortable with it.  Dig into the things you’ve procrastinated thinking about.  That discomfort is the best thing for you, and it will propel you forward faster than you could imagine.   Discomfort is the greatest motivator.

Dan Mumm