{"id":32844,"date":"2018-05-01T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarshed.foureyes.com\/?p=32844"},"modified":"2020-10-22T07:27:40","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T14:27:40","slug":"tq-mortimer-adler-true-freedom-discipline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/tq-mortimer-adler-true-freedom-discipline\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortimer Adler on How to Gain True Freedom on Guitar"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\n
\n

\u00a0\u201cTrue freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mortimer J. Adler<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

It\u2019s easy to think of freedom and discipline as incongruent. After all, isn\u2019t freedom the ability to do anything anytime? And wouldn\u2019t discipline cancel that out?<\/p>\n

Freedom is a double-edged sword. Yes, it opens up possibilities and allows us to have new experiences. But there\u2019s a dark side as well\u2026.<\/p>\n

Freedom demands that we make decisions. With all the options, we\u2019re forced to choose something. And the more freedom, the more options we have to choose from.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the banana peel that freedom throws underfoot: Decisions suck our mental and creative energy. The more decisions we make, the less creative energy we have to actually do something worthwhile.<\/p>\n

This is where discipline comes to the rescue.<\/p>\n

Discipline is a decision already made. With discipline, we narrow our options and remove choices. This frees up brainpower we can then spend on the parts that matter.<\/p>\n

In guitar practice, this means knowing what we\u2019ll practice before we sit down. We can then focus our attention on the quality<\/a> of each note (instead of pondering what to do next).<\/p>\n

Discipline allows us to go deeper in fewer areas at any given time. Lack of discipline (aka \u201cchaos\u201d) usually leads to shallower and more disjointed practice. Over time, we master the skills we go deepest on, and live with the longest.<\/p>\n

So the fewer decisions we make in practice, the better the practice tends to be.<\/p>\n

True freedom on guitar comes through focused attention and consistent repetition. And to guarantee these, we need only eliminate choices by planning ahead<\/a>, then show up.<\/p>\n

Of course discipline itself is a practice, and gets easier and more effective over time.<\/p>\n

So the game is to: 1. limit our options and have a plan, then 2. allow ourselves the freedom to change it if we really want to (but default to staying with the plan).<\/p>\n

This way we can benefit from discipline, but still feel free to go wild when the urge strikes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Find more here. Enjoy! \u00a0\u201cTrue freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.\u201d Mortimer J. Adler It\u2019s easy to think of freedom and discipline as incongruent. After all, isn\u2019t freedom the ability to do anything anytime? And wouldn\u2019t discipline cancel that out? … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2973,"featured_media":32845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-quotes"],"yoast_head":"\n[Quote] Mortimer J. Adler on How to Gain True Freedom on Guitar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mortimer Adler on How to Gain True Freedom on Guitar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Find more here. Enjoy! \u00a0\u201cTrue freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.\u201d Mortimer J. 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