Alex Yates

October 13, 2005
Unhindered Movement
Getting Out Of Your Own Way

(This is from a daily newsletter I receive called "DailyOM" from http://www.dailyom.com and I thought it might be a nice read for us trumpeters trying to achieve all that we do.)

When you find yourself facing obstacles that appear to be blocking you from your goals, it is important to try not to get discouraged. It can be easy to feel "stuck" or that "life" is creating circumstances preventing you from getting what you want. And while it is easy to look at everyone and everything outside of ourselves for the problem, perhaps even wanting to "get rid" of the person, object, or circumstance we may feel is blocking us, sometimes the best course of action to take may be to look inside ourselves first.

It is amazing how often we can get in our own way without even being aware that we are doing so. Even though we truly want to succeed, there are many reasons why we may sometimes block our own efforts. It may be that we are afraid to succeed, so we subconsciously create circumstances to keep ourselves stuck. Or it may even be that we are afraid that we will succeed, so we block ourselves by making the achievement of our goals more difficult than they really are. We may even approach our goals in a way that keeps creating the same unsuccessful results.

If you believe that you've been standing in your own way, you may want to take a piece of paper and record how you've done so. Write down the choices you've made that have hindered your efforts and the fears which may have prompted you to make these decisions. Take note of any thoughts and feelings that arise. It is important to be gentle and compassionate during this process. Try not to blame yourself for getting in your own way. Remember the choices we make always are there to serve us, until it is time to let them go. When you are finished, throw the paper away while setting an intention that you are getting rid of any obstacles you've created to block yourself. You can then let yourself start again with a clean slate. Doubts and fears are going to be natural, but with this new awareness, you should be able to prevent yourself from subconsciously creating obstacles. Besides, now that you've decided to get out of your own way, the part of you that has always wanted to succeed can now do so.

Clarence

WOW that,s real deep.
It,s also very true indeed.
You are your worst enemy!

__________________
You heard it here 1st, in what ever u do if u buy the ticket u take the ride!
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tpter1

Synchronicity: A series of seemingly unrelated events, that connect through an underlying common subconscious.

Yesterday's posts about audition strategies. The threads about your best and worst aspects. An opening in a nearby orchestra. This thread. The examination of self; of one's station. Perhaps a fleeting glimpse at a dream lost. Reality? What of it?

This seems so very odd to me...this series of events unfolding before me. I am not superstitious; I don't subscribe to "fate". Very interesting posts. Thought provoking, indeed.

__________________
-Glenn
"Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting

Alex Yates

Jim Thompson said something to me one time years ago that caused pause in my thinking.....

(I have no idea what your age is, so I am not sure how far along you have travelled on the road of life. This touches a bit on "fate", but I am not coming from a religious viewpoint. Just life and fate and being in rhythm with "the universe".)

When we go through life, it all seems random and even chaotic at times - like we have no control over it....but when you put in enough miles and can indulge in retrospection, you can almost see the journey played out like a perfectly planned chess game. Now, while we cannot change the past, this awareness helps greatly as you move forward and make crucial decisions. Just some food for thought in line with this thread.

Eclipsehornplayer

Right on Alex,

Boy, if I only knew then what I know now....

I find life to be a dance and sadly I've got two left feet!

That'll tell you how I've done in this game.....

__________________
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Manny Laureano

Leave it to Alex...

Hey, Bear... ya listening? Read her post about three or four times... a day... until it hits you right. Those are important things she posted especially about noticing these things and being easy on yourself.

Leave it to a good woman...

ML

Derek Reaban

My Wife and I recently rented the movie Coach Carter about the former High School basketball player who went back to coach his old team. The movie is very inspirational and if you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to find an evening to watch it.

The movie focuses on a rough bunch of kids that have no real direction in their lives, except that they all are individually talented at playing basketball. Their team, however, has a losing record because all of the personalities on the team are not capable of working together with the current coach.

Coach Carter is brought in to turn things around, and during this transformation, he teaches the kids that they must be held accountable for their decisions and actions. If they can do this, he promises that they will succeed, not only on the basketball court, but in life.

Throughout the movie, Coach Carter asks one of the players over and over “What is your deepest fear”.

This is a very powerful response that fits well with this post.

Coach Ken Carter: What is your deepest fear?

Timo Cruz: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

__________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona

tpter1

Derek- I have a quote of the week at school on the white board. That Timo Cruz quote will be next week! Thanks.

__________________
-Glenn
"Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting

dizforprez

here is the full quote

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Marianne Williamson

tpter1

I've been doing alot of thinking on this lately. It has, to me at least, become a question of identity.

As I wrote in my Eclipse contest entry, so much of who we are encompasses what we do. For evidence of that, read Manny's "So, who are you?" thread. Every entry has a discussion of what the person is doing...it is how we identify ourselves; especially with something like music, which is more of a "calling", ratherr than a career choice.

I wrote this in my initial response, and deleted it:
There are 2 distinct musical personalities within me, (I suspect this is true of many, but not all, music teachers and performers alike): the teacher and the performer. The primary breadwinner is the teacher. The intellect (the head) is the teacher; the emoptional, ego, heart, whatever you want to call it, is the performer. They never quite seem to be in balance.

I'm a public school band director; yet I have applied for 3 professional orchestras so far. (The number of auditions I taken so far is equal to Mr. Smith in NY; except he won all of his!) My time commitments and responsibilities at school often dictate the amount of practice time or lack of practice time the performer gets. The performer, from time to time, takes away from the amount of energy (planning, organizing, etc) that the teacher needs. There's a third personality as well, and that is Daddy, husband, primary source of income. (My wife is in the ending stages of her at-home Mom career; our youngest begins kindergarten next year). The most recent job I applied for (Syracuse) would be nearly half the salary I make now. I stand little to no chance of getting heard, let alone winning. Yet, I continue to prepare my playing as if the audition is next week. These posts come about right at that crux of time; when these personalities are doing the ultimate battle with one another.

Now, time to go practice.

__________________
-Glenn
"Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting