{"id":31623,"date":"2018-03-20T08:00:38","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T15:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarshed.foureyes.com\/?p=31623"},"modified":"2023-04-18T00:57:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T07:57:29","slug":"tq-anne-lamott-bad-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/tq-anne-lamott-bad-neighborhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Anne Lamott on the mental landscape of guitar practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday Quotes<\/a> are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy mind is like a bad neighborhood, I try not to go there alone.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Anne Lamott<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

To enjoy a fulfilling classical guitar practice, all it takes is to show up regularly and do the work. When we sit down and focus daily, we gain skills and see improvement over time.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s really all there is to it. But we can easily psyche ourselves out.<\/p>\n

We may start to think, \u201cI should be improving faster\u2026\u201d or, \u201cThis piece should be easy – something must be wrong with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

These thoughts are Trojan horses that soon have us \u201cforgetting\u201d to practice.\u00a0 We get “too busy” with other things.<\/p>\n

Any thought about where we are in relation to some fantasy ideal is trouble.<\/p>\n

We all want to be our best selves. We want to experience mastery. We want to actualize what we believe is possible for us on guitar.<\/p>\n

But the only way to get these is to sit down and practice. A little bit today, a little bit tomorrow, a little bit the next day.<\/p>\n

When we miss a few days of practice, it\u2019s tempting to put a story behind it. We create a meaning, such as, \u201cI\u2019m not cut out for this..\u201d or, \u201cI\u2019m too busy.\u201d or \u201cThe world is conspiring against my learning guitar!\u201d<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s all hooey. As the Bard gives us in Hamlet, \u201cThere is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of mastering guitar is mastering our minds. The question is, \u201cWhat am I focusing on right now, at this moment?\u201d In guitar practice, the answer should be something specific pertaining to our music or the act of playing in that moment.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, we\u2019re just distracting ourselves from the work that will get us what we want.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Enjoy! \u201cMy mind is like a bad neighborhood, I try not to go there alone.\u201d Anne Lamott To enjoy a fulfilling classical guitar practice, all it takes is to show up regularly and do the work. When we sit down and focus daily, we … <\/p>\n

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