Tuning Slide #5.24- Professional or Procrastination

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

The difference between an amateur and a professional is in their habits. An amateur has amateur habits. A professional has professional habits. We can never free ourselves from habit. But we can replace bad habits with good ones.
— Steven Pressfield

Little did I realize when I set up my schedule of posts for these months that I would need to hear what I am writing about today. I originally planned this post as another reminder of what the differences are between “amateur” and “professional.” It is not, as I have said before, about getting paid versus not, it is about attitude, perspective, and mindset. It’s in the things like these from Jeff Goins at Medium:

✓ 1. Amateurs wait for clarity. Pros take action.
You have to know what you are before you can figure out what you want to do.
✓ 2. Amateurs want to arrive. Pros want to get better.
You have to become a student long before you get to be a master
✓ 3. Amateurs practice as much as they have to. Pros never stop.
You have to practice even, maybe especially, when it hurts.
✓ 4. Amateurs leap for their dreams. Pros build a bridge.
You have to build a bridge, not take a leap. It’s the daily practice. The amateur is concerned with the big break, whereas the pro is more focused on delaying immediate gratification in exchange for long-term success.

All well and good. Over these last five to six years I have made many changes and improvements. I have learned to take action, to strive for ongoing practice, to build bridges through that practice toward where I am going. It has been an exciting and fulfilling journey. I have finally accepted that being a professional musician is not just about making a living and having a career in music. It is living in those things in all of one’s life. That is how I grew and improved in my careers as a pastor and counselor. It is where I am still going in my life as a musician.

But it is not a straight line of constant improvement. In the past, when I reached certain points of “being stalled” or “plateaued” I just kept moving. The answers usually came. "Don’t stop" may be the best advice at those moments. More is coming.

Well, today I am writing to remind myself of all this in ways far beyond just my music. I noticed this especially when I reviewed the following from behavioral psychology writer Mayo Oshin (link):

▪ 1. Amateurs wait to feel inspired. Professionals stick to a schedule.
Professionals don’t let their feelings dictate their actions. They intentionally create and stick to a schedule come rain or shine.

▪ 2. Amateurs focus on goals. Professionals focus on habits.
Amateurs struggle with ‘resistance’ and procrastination because of their intense focus on the end result. Professionals treat success like a marathon and not a sprint. They focus on developing the habits that will naturally help them to achieve their goals as a by-product.

▪ 3. Amateurs strive to achieve. Professionals strive to improve.
The professional understands that achievement is simply an indication of how much they’ve improved. They are focused on continuous growth and seek to find new ways to improve themselves.

▪ 4. Amateurs stall after failure. Professionals grow after failure.
Amateurs try to avoid failure at all costs. They fear criticism and worry too much about what people would think if they failed. Professionals treat failure and criticism like a scientist—discarding the irrelevant information and using the relevant feedback to become better at what they do.

[Mumble] How did I know that I would be where I am today when I set up this schedule back six weeks ago? [Mumble] There must be some outside force that plans these just to keep me from getting too comfortable. [Grumble] I guess I need to live what I suggest. [Grumble one last time.]

Over the past month or so, I hit one of my walls in much of what I am doing.
~~ My trumpet practice routine got sidetracked by minor surgery. In my frustration, I have struggled with getting centered again.
~~ My workout routine got shifted by travel, though I have managed to keep my weight-loss goal steady, though at a plateau.
~~ My writing of this blog and two other projects started to become a chore, so I would just put it off. Part of this is because I am in a different setting than usual and haven’t gone to “The Office”, i.e. the coffee shops where I do most of my writing. I even thought of putting The Tuning Slide on hiatus for a few weeks. [Horrors!]

It reminds me of the saying I used here several years ago:

◆ How you do anything is how you do everything.

Over these weeks something (it) has shown up in anything and everything.

Okay, it is procrastination.

I need to name it- and the first step is to know that I am procrastinating and I need to do something about it. I need to remind myself that this isn’t an either-or choice. I am by nature one who likes to be inspired, to set goals, to achieve, and to avoid failure. Because I will bring that into my “pro” attitude, I remind myself that:

⁃ Professionals get inspired because of following schedules.
⁃ Professionals have goals as well as habits (which help them reach their goals).
⁃ Professionals achieve because they improve.
⁃ Professionals do get stalled, but they keep moving.

I go back to Mayo Oshin’s post. She gives a two-part answer to becoming (and staying) “pro”:

◆ Thou shalt commit to a schedule.
A schedule is simply a pre-commitment to consistently put in your ‘reps’ and hours in your craft. Just like any new habit, your willpower and ability to delay gratification will also affect your consistency levels.
◆ Thou shalt believe that thou art ‘Pro.’
This is why it’s so important to shift your identity. You have the power right now to believe that you’re a professional. [But] To say that you believe you’re a pro isn’t enough because actions speak louder than words. Prove to yourself that you’re really a pro and do the things that a pro would do every day.

Having been found guilty of procrastination and inspired by these directions, three final questions that I need to answer from Oshin’s article.

• Am I committed to being a professional in any area of my life?
• Is there anything holding me back from going pro?
• What can I do to create the schedule and identity of a pro?

Take some time this week to look at those questions for yourself. I will, and then continue this next week. Be honest, rigorously honest, with yourself. It always helps to do that since we are good at keeping the truth from ourselves, though we usually know it’s BS.

You can never be true to others, if you keep on lying to yourself.
― Gift Gugu Mona

Tuning Slide #5.19- More on Being Professional

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

Amateurs wait for inspiration. The real pros get up and go to work.
— Harvey Mackay

It seems to have become one of my standard ideas to expand on- the difference between amateurs and professionals. The old definition that professionals get paid while amateurs don’t is not the way to think about it- and not just because there are a lot of musicians who get paid very little to do their music and yet are truly professionals. It doesn’t take too many Google searches (usually about 1) to find a slew of things comparing the two.

One I found was on the website for the business magazine Inc. It starts with the question:

What qualities, traits, or habits set those who achieve incredible things apart from those who merely dream about it?

It is a good starting point. Far from the issue of how much you earn at whatever you are professional at, it has to do with what you achieve, moving beyond merely dreaming. For many years I was truly an amateur. Any dreams or desires I had for my music were simply that- dreams. Some of them hardly mentioned, others left behind when I graduated from college I never expected to become professional, under the more traditional definition- or any other. Then I came across some people who encouraged me to change my style, my music, and my habits. I hesitate to call myself a professional even now. At least I know I am more professional than I have ever been. Here, from that article on Inc. are some of the things that separate one from the other. My comments in italics.

◆ Amateurs stop when they achieve something. Professionals understand that the initial achievement is just the beginning.
◆ Amateurs think they are good at everything. Professionals understand their circles of competence.
[I always thought that once I did something, advanced beyond a certain point, I had arrived at wherever that achievement took me. If I got through the first section of Arban, on some level I should be able to do anything in the book. Not true. That first achievement- or even number 100 is not the end. As an amateur that is frustrating. As a professional it is energizing.]

◆ Amateurs give up at the first sign of trouble and assume they're failures. Professionals see failure as part of the path to growth and mastery.
[My “‘troubles” 50+ years ago led me to believe I wasn’t able to do the music. Hence it DID become failure, although purely self-imposed. Only when I looked back with a more realistic understanding did it begin to move me. It still amazes me!]

◆ Amateurs see feedback and coaching as someone criticizing them as a person. Professionals know they have weak spots and seek out thoughtful criticism.
◆ Amateurs focus on identifying their weaknesses and improving them. Professionals focus on their strengths and on finding people who are strong where they are weak.
[The first time I was doing some writing for a study guide for our church’s denominational publications, I got very upset at the person who was overseeing and editing the project. “How dare they edit what I’ve written. It’s so good. Fortunately, since they were a friend of mine, I didn’t say that. Instead, I learned that editing is essential in the final drafts of publications. I have since generally learned to look at advice as support, letting me see what I can do- and how to use it for what I am working on. Hence the ongoing use of the very basics of trumpet playing- long tones, scales, Arban and Clarke.]

◆ Amateurs focus on being right. Professionals focus on getting the best outcome.
◆ Amateurs focus on the short term. Professionals focus on the long term.
[As an amateur I wanted to be perfect. Every mistake I made was a failure. (See above!) Everything was about what was right in front of me- and it was often too far down the road. There was a sense of unreality. I have jokingly said that this is why I have never gotten very far in my guitar playing. I want to be able to play perfectly RIGHT NOW! I want to be able to be as good on the guitar as I am on the trumpet- and it doesn’t work that way. By the way, I am thinking about trying that guitar thing again. I'll see how well I can follow my own advice.]

◆ Amateurs show up inconsistently. Professionals show up every day.
[This can bring chaos to community-based music groups. Part of the problem is that we all usually have day jobs that allow us the freedom to be musicians. That can get in the way of our music. Some of that is unavoidable and part of the reason that while any community-based groups can be very good, we always know that we will never be at the level of the groups on the higher plane. But, if we put in our effort, make the plans to be there every day and add our part to it, our groups will achieve far more than we think we can! And that leads to the last of these:]

◆ Amateurs believe that the world should work the way they want it to. Professionals realize that they have to work with the world as they find it.
[Acceptance and mindfulness; knowing our current limits but not giving up on where we can go; going to work at our “day jobs” while allowing the music to grow within and through us. That’s what works!]

My biggest issue is that I can easily fall back into the old ways. Because I don’t earn my living playing music I can find myself thinking about backing off and being satisfied with wherever I am. That’s still my inner amateur at work. Just because one has been able to get past the early amateur shortcomings, doesn’t mean that one is able to always be “professional.” It is always a work in progress. I and my music are always works in progress. As long as I am moving in that direction, I am no longer just an amateur. I am a musician.

Where are you able to be professional today? Pick one or two and begin to think about how you can improve your musical game.