Life of the musician in a nutshell:
-Wake up
-Practice/Rehearse
-Gig
-Repeat
If you can relate to the statement above, you are definitely a musician.
Probably one that is lacking a bit of motivation.
In my previous article I discussed how some dedicated musicians can feel a kind of guilt when missing a few days of practice (READ HERE); in this one I’d like to focus on how it is possible to get unstuck from feeling demotivated and uninspired.
Sometimes I feel like I am practicing the same things day in and day out, playing the same kind of gigs every week, and I don’t really see any progress in my career; life can feel tedious and boring. I start questioning myself: “what if I move to another city?”, or “what if I had made this or that decision?”
Questions like these are only some of the reasons that get me down and feeling stuck.
Luckily, I realised that there are a few ways out of this feeling of being trapped in my own bubble. The best solution I found is to look for support from other people who have been in the same situation as you. We musicians are fortunate to be part of a bigger community of people who provide encouragement and support to each other; if there is someone that you trust and inspires you, having a conversation with them about where to move next in your career can massively help.
Next, I discovered that blaming my past decisions is the worst possible mistake I could make. Thinking about of all the “what ifs?” never solved problems but instead can make you more grumpy and agitated. As an alternative, planning a fresh a new start and looking out for new opportunities helped me big time. Life is made of ups and downs; when we are feeling demotivated is when we need to stop what we’re doing, evaluate what’s wrong and start over.
Last but not least: taking care of myself. This massively prevents me from having a negative mindset! Trying to live healthily is particularly “trendy” at the moment, but luckily not all trends are bad. Eating well, sleeping enough hours (without phone distractions) and doing regular physical activity might sound boring, but I found that when my body and mind are in check, everything else is easier to manage.
What are your ways to keep motivated?
How do you get out from feeling down?
Do you have any specific advice you could share?
I’d love to hear more on this topic, please message me or add a comment.
‘til next time
