Fact number one: Your focus is in your control.Fact number two: Your focus is a critical factor in your success and harp happiness.Conclusion: What you focus on matters… a lot.

In the last episode of the podcast, we were talking about focus in terms of placing your chords. I cited one of my favorite Zig Ziglar quotes, “You hit what you aim at.”

I’m going to put a different spin on that today. We aren’t going to talk about focusing on a goal exactly. We’re going to discuss how to shift your focus to get you beyond a sticking point or a challenge. Here’s my idea in a nutshell: when we focus on the hard thing, we lose perspective on why we are doing the hard thing to begin with. That can cost us a lot in terms of time, energy and enjoyment.

Consider some of the things we focus on that can leave us with a feeling of letdown or even loss. We spend weeks preparing for Christmas, only to realize on December 26th that we didn’t really remember to enjoy the day. Or we put days of effort into making a special meal - Thanksgiving dinner comes to my mind - and everyone is finished their meal and watching the football game almost before we’ve sat down to our own plate. Or we prepare so much for a special performance that we don’t know what to practice the day after it’s over.

What about the things we focus on when we’re practicing or performing? Are we focusing on the things that will help us grow and move us forward? Or are we only concentrating on the difficulties that are in front of us, whether those are wrong notes or stumbles or performance nerves?

I believe that often we are looking through a microscope at too many of those moments, when we really should be using binoculars to see what lies ahead, beyond the hard part. Instead of going into the rabbit hole where our perceptions are distorted (that wrong note really doesn’t matter that much!), we need a healthier perspective on what we’re actually trying to do, so that we can get past the sticking point and get back to loving the music.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Register now for the “Sharpen Your Focus, Elevate Your Performance” Clinic
• Take lessons with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach.
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

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