The Art of Showing Up
- Mar 25
- 2 min read
Exploring Structures of Motivation & Discipline
You should stop playing music.
Well of course that’s not true, but it’s an interesting little experiment, isn’t it? What emotions came up when you read that first sentence? Maybe they’re still lingering for you to parse some meaning from.
For many (myself included), that sentence brings a lot of negative feelings bubbling to the surface. While it’s easy enough to write those feelings off as a normal strain of anxiety, there’s a likelihood it goes deeper than that, right down to the pure fear we feel that that sentence is true.
This leads me to my real interest here: What is it that keeps us playing music, no matter the circumstances? The world is renowned for its creativity in stealing away our joy—how do we reclaim that joy when our context tries to rip it from us?
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The answer here will undoubtedly vary from person to person. Some are propelled forward by a deep desire to learn (we’d call this intrinsic motivation); others are strengthened by the desire to impress their friends and family or to win awards (extrinsic motivation). For many others, motivation disappeared a long time ago, operating as the starter motor to get them going and then rinsing its hands of responsibility. At this juncture, discipline has to take the reins and drive ever forward.
Tapping your known motivation and building discipline are the two most cited forces that keep musicians at their instrument (if not the only forces cited). But what happens when the world interjects with overwhelming stress, tragedy, or pain? How do we hold on to our music when motivation wanes and discipline fractures?
Today, I’d like to offer a third force, something that is (in my opinion) far stronger than the others: self-love. Showing up at your instrument is an act of self-love, of showing up for yourself. When nothing else in the world will afford you a moment of peace, you can find your way to your instrument and give that peace to yourself.
This week, I encourage you to think about which force currently brings you back to your instrument week after week. Think about how viewing music as self-love could reshape your relationship with music for the better. If your child is in lessons with us, begin to contemplate how you can support them in finding a love for music that will outlast motivation and discipline (and don’t worry, we’re already working on that in our lessons!).
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