A few years ago I took conducting lessons from the best conductor at the University of Alabama...simply wonderful conductor. It's AMAZING what he does with his ensemble...really it was a privilege to be his student...
...well, one day he said something to me that really bothered me. I was frustrated with myself that I hadn't mastered something by the time I came back in for another lesson...and he said something to the effect of "Well, the goal here isn't to turn you into a world-class conductor."
That bothered me.
However AWESOME that would be (one of my dreams is to conduct the New York Philharmonic...) I don't expect to actually be a world-class conductor.
But why not have the goal of being as good as a world-class conductor? If you are going to be something or do something, shouldn't you have the goal of being the best at it? Not for the glory necessarily, but (forgive the cheese...) to be the best that you can be?
Why not have the goal of being the best music theorist in the world? The best musician, the best sign language interpreter, the best boss, etc...
Or, for a different perspective, the best mother or father in the world?
That way you are always trying to improve and be better than you are. You may not achieve that goal, but at the very least you have the satisfaction of a life working towards a worthy goal.
And if you just happen to reach that goal...then you can go to Disneyworld to celebrate!
Or go there anyways because it's a cool place to go...:)
3 comments:
My mom has a great saying: "It's better to aim for the moon and miss, than to hit for the garbage heap and get it."
Hmm, I believe that your instructor might have been wanting to make you feel better about your perfectionism, but I think he did it poorly. Of course we should try to be the best at whatever we do.
I agree. I mean, we have to be realistic about our goals, but it's better to set your goals high so that there is always room for improvement instead of having low goals and being content with never growing and progressing.
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