Monday, March 4, 2013

Fearlessness is taking over

In the two years since I began to study Fearless Performance with Jeff Nelsen, I have had many, many opportunities to perform in front of people.  I have had a lot of time to put into practice all of the great things that I learned.  Have I been diligent about this?  Well, not as much as I would like.  But I've been trying to achieve Fearlessness every time I perform.

Everyone should be able to relate to the idea of working hard at something and getting close to your goal, but having many more near-misses than bulls eyes.  Sound familiar?

Like when I run, it would be ideal to feel great for the entire duration of the run, light as a feather, without breathlessness, a tight muscle, or a cramp.  Right?  In reality, I'd say that only about 15% of my runs feel like this...

I do a lot of this type of work, as I'm sure a lot of you do.  You know, projects that require tedious practice and maintenance.  Like running, or yoga, or cooking, or playing a musical instrument.  I have consistent opportunities to improve my performance success and satisfaction.  While there is usually something about the performance that I feel 100% positive about, the performances where everything lined up and I felt great are few and far between.  Call me a perfectionist(?)

I am a firm believer that you have to have faith in the process.  If you put in enough of the right type of work, you will achieve your goal.

I am happy to say that last night, I finally had one of my ideal performances.  No, I didn't play all of the right notes, but I was mentally and emotionally in the place that I have been aspiring towards for years. I didn't need anybody's approval.  In fact, if somebody that I trust had told me the performance was poor, I wouldn't even care.  I felt great.  I didn't care who was in the audience.  I got to express music on the spot without any distractions.  Everything was happening in real time.  I felt ready to walk on the stage every time, and I celebrated when I got off stage.

These are all things that I have been practicing, but rarely to they all line up at once.  I hope this is the beginning of the next chapter for me.  It's liberating, really.

I am thankful to Jeff for giving me the tools to get here.


If you put in enough of the right type of work, you will achieve your dream.

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