Values

If making your music as compelling as it can be is essentially a lot of work and deliberate practice, why do elite performers do it? If you are going to persevere through all the adversity en route to greatness, you have to have a why. This and the following blog focus on values and goals. You will discover how values can form a solid foundation for goal setting and increase its effectiveness.

Values

Values are a consistent way of doing things. They are a standard to live by. Think of it as musical integrity: every time you step onto the stage or go into your practice room, you have a standard of behaviour that you hold yourself accountable to. It doesn’t matter if the lights are dazzling, nobody’s listening, or even how you’re feeling. It is simply being the person you want to be - consistently. Define the behaviours that reflect your values in these performance areas: what kind of ensemble member do you want to be, what kind of solo performer you want to be, how you want to practise, how you want to develop both technical skills and repertoire, and how you keep it all balanced with fun and recreation in other areas of your life.

Then comes the big question: are you that type of person now? At this point, you might come face to face with the reality that you are not living your musical values. To do so, you must behave in a valued direction every day—at every practice, in every performance, under every circumstance. But there are barriers to this.

Inevitably, there are some feelings or thoughts that get in the way. And for a moment, we lose focus on our values and give in to our desire for comfort or relief, or we act out in impulsive anger or in response to fear or boredom. In the process of practise and performance, it is essential that we keep our attention on what we value most. If we prioritize our feelings, our values are often compromised.

After clearly identifying what our musical values are and look like behaviourally, our next step is developing an awareness of how we act and this choice between values-driven, or emotionally driven, behaviour. You’d be surprised how often we choose emotions. We often practise and perform mindlessly.

But values not only provide direction; they also provide energy. Performers who are focused on the values that underlie their goals practise more than those who lack value clarity. They also make better choices, especially in the face of hardships and negative thoughts and emotions, and are thus more likely to persevere in a day-to-day schedule that leads to goal achievement.

Question to Consider:

Write down your five most important musical values and give a behavioural example (i.e., action you can see) of each that you could do daily or weekly. For example, if you value perseverance, you may live that value by practising regularly or being more patient with your mistakes.

Once you have reviewed your values, you can set your goals. More on that in my blog ‘Goals.’