Blog
True Happiness is...
July 11, 2017
...the full use of one's power and talents." -John W. Gardner
I've been taking banjo lessons for about 12 years. I'm in a bluegrass band and have been performing for the past 7 years. And yet.....I still don't consider myself a very good banjo player. In my head I'm an advanced beginner at best. I was recently at a banjo lesson and my teacher was helping me with an issue I'm currently having and said to me, "You're a banjo player." Immediately I started to qualify that idea with things like "Well, yes, but......" There were at least two examples of how I'm not really a good musician but manage to get by. And no matter how many people tell me they enjoy my playing, I ALWAYS find a way to minimize my talent. Maybe it's because I don't have a lot of natural talent for music. I learned to play with LOTS of practice. I had to put the time in to figure it out. In my mind, somehow that makes what I can do less than what a "naturally talented" musician can do. It got me wondering how often each of us minimizes our talents and abilities; how often we have to qualify a compliment with "Well, yes, but.....?" If this is something you find yourself struggling with, here's an article to help you embrace your natural and/or hard-won talents.
Here is the question:
How would your life change if you embraced your talents and abilities?