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Hey, here's your Weekly Rx. It's time to face the music.
Words Worth Keeping
"Contrast can create velocity, if you frame it in a healthy, honest way with yourself."
— Me, in a text, explaining a rubber band to a client
The tension is the part that launches it.
This Week
A client sent me a text. They were down, and they said so. Their audition is coming up fast and they still don't feel like they're getting closer to ready. Something they'd been counting on fell through. It was all piling up at once.
They also apologized for bothering me. They weren't. Showing up on the hard days is exactly what I'm here for.
I answered with a story from high school.
There was a trumpet player named George. We were always going after the same things: first chair, the solos, the lead in jazz band, the lead in orchestra. It was a friendly competition. I don't even think either of us knew we were doing it.
But knowing George was going to be there changed how I played. It elevated my playing and it focused my preparation. He was a really good piccolo trumpet player, even in high school, and his skills highlighted areas in my own playing that needed work, areas I hadn't noticed.
Was the tension comfortable? No. I'm not going to argue that it was.
I didn't pretend otherwise with my client, either. I just gave them a different way to look at it. It involves a rubber band.
The Prescription
Think about how you shoot a rubber band across a room. You hook it on your finger. Then you pull. It gets tighter and tighter, and the tension keeps building. None of that is comfortable.
But that tension is the whole mechanism. Without it, the rubber band doesn't go anywhere.
The discomfort is what sends it across the room.
The pressure you feel when another player is prepping hard, or the date is close, or something you were counting on falls through, is contrast. Contrast shows you where you are and where the other person is. Where they're ahead, that's your flashlight. Point it at your own playing and use what it shows you.
Contrast also shows you what you want, and what you don't. The sting tells you something mattered. The relief tells you something didn't. Pay attention to both.
And leave room for the truth: sometimes it doesn't feel great. You can say that out loud and still use the tension. Both are allowed.
If that other player is in your community, they might not be your rival at all. They might be your best practice partner. A rubber band with a pulse.
Pressure is contrast, and contrast is what launches you, as long as you're honest with yourself about what it's showing you.
Hit reply and tell me who your George is. If you've never had one, tell me what's stretching you right now.
Happy practicing,
Chris @ Honesty Pill Coaching
Something land? Something miss? Hit reply. I read them.
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