This is a little different topic from what is usually talked about here on the forums, but an occasional change in the type of discussions had isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Recently, I was working on a Chopin Polonaise at the piano. A Polonaise is a solo-piano, classical piece of music that is patriotic in its theme. Frederick Chopin, the composer of this piece, was from Poland, and his country was in the midst of a bad revolution and experiencing major social, political, and cultural upheaval. He wrote this piece out of loyalty to his country and to the things that it really represented. There were many difficult parts in this piece, but there was one passage near the end that was particularly difficult, especially from a psychological standpoint. It was a passage that you could very easily make a mistake in and not play correctly, yet have it still sound good. Because of this, I was focused so hard and so intently on getting this one aspect of the passage right that it was making me very tense, to the point where it was affecting other areas of the music that I would normally play right through, with no trouble at all. As I was working on the passage, suddenly, my prior training kicked in, and I remembered that the harder and more difficult a passage is, such as this one, the looser and more relaxed you have to be. You also have to have strong hands, fingers
and wrists. In fact, my teacher has said that the men with the strongest hands, interestingly enough, are not the construction workers, the bodybuilders or even the professional bowlers, who have to hold, swing, and roll at least a 15lb. bowling ball down a sixty foot lane at 16-20mph with only the middle and ring fingers and thumb, swinging and releasing it the same way every throw, hitting the exact same target on the lane every time. Those with the strongest hands, generally speaking, are the concert pianists. The demands put on the hands fingers and wrists by the high-level classical music are beyond anything imaginable in any other line of work. And yes, playing the piano at a concert level is definitely work. A lot of work. But especially important, and this is the whole point of the posting, is that, as in the piano, in order to be successful in any endevour, be it racing, music or political leadership, you have to have a balance of priorities, as well as, of course, the right priorities to begin with. Like the passage of music I was working on, so also is the passage of life in general, which can be very difficult, tricky, and mentally taxing. Its easy to make mistakes. Yet, even with the mistakes, it can still turn out well if you know when to walk away for a while and get your perspective back. Successful racers know that you must have good tires properly suited for the track conditions; but they don't focus so much on the tires that they lose sight of the importance of the engine, and vice versa. They also know that every once in a while, you just have to put down what you were working on, go take a break and have a few good laughs with some friends. Presidents, at least good ones, try and strike a balance between any number of priorities. Unfortunately, depending on the voters, presidents sometimes have quite a bit more leeway than most people in determining whether their priorities will even be good ones to begin with. But those that do have good priorities, who really care about their job and about getting the things done that should get done, also know when it's time to take a break. Eisenhower went golfing, our beloved 40th president Mr. Reagan used to visit Camp David or his Rancho del Cielo to go fishing, riding, and get away from the noise and hype. George Bush Sr. went bowling. Bush Jr. got up every morning at 4:00 every morning before work to run. (Oops, maybe a made a mistake here: I forgot to ask, Is it okay to mention his name again?)
Pianists also, like everyone else, have to balance between keeping in mind their final goals with keeping in mind the best ways to get there. Sometimes, the best thing to do when you're struggling is to loosen up, refuse to allow your mind to be clouded over by the fear of failure, and say, "So what if I make a mistake?" Never lose sight of your goal, yet at the same time, realize that the path to "perfection" is characterized by mistakes. Let your goals and dreams guide you, but don't let them hound you. Sometimes, you just have to relax, have some fun, and allow yourself to make mistakes. Get your mind above the fear of failure. It is then that you can see more clearly what you're doing and what you need to change to accomplish your goals. Yes, this was all a part of my training, both as a pianist, and especially, as a Christian. So long as they're not family, whatever obstacles there are that might cause you to fail, including the fear of failure, remove them, whether they are a mental barrier, a negative person telling you you can't do it, or a politician who wants to tax, monitor or regulate you out of existence.
Recently, I was working on a Chopin Polonaise at the piano. A Polonaise is a solo-piano, classical piece of music that is patriotic in its theme. Frederick Chopin, the composer of this piece, was from Poland, and his country was in the midst of a bad revolution and experiencing major social, political, and cultural upheaval. He wrote this piece out of loyalty to his country and to the things that it really represented. There were many difficult parts in this piece, but there was one passage near the end that was particularly difficult, especially from a psychological standpoint. It was a passage that you could very easily make a mistake in and not play correctly, yet have it still sound good. Because of this, I was focused so hard and so intently on getting this one aspect of the passage right that it was making me very tense, to the point where it was affecting other areas of the music that I would normally play right through, with no trouble at all. As I was working on the passage, suddenly, my prior training kicked in, and I remembered that the harder and more difficult a passage is, such as this one, the looser and more relaxed you have to be. You also have to have strong hands, fingers
and wrists. In fact, my teacher has said that the men with the strongest hands, interestingly enough, are not the construction workers, the bodybuilders or even the professional bowlers, who have to hold, swing, and roll at least a 15lb. bowling ball down a sixty foot lane at 16-20mph with only the middle and ring fingers and thumb, swinging and releasing it the same way every throw, hitting the exact same target on the lane every time. Those with the strongest hands, generally speaking, are the concert pianists. The demands put on the hands fingers and wrists by the high-level classical music are beyond anything imaginable in any other line of work. And yes, playing the piano at a concert level is definitely work. A lot of work. But especially important, and this is the whole point of the posting, is that, as in the piano, in order to be successful in any endevour, be it racing, music or political leadership, you have to have a balance of priorities, as well as, of course, the right priorities to begin with. Like the passage of music I was working on, so also is the passage of life in general, which can be very difficult, tricky, and mentally taxing. Its easy to make mistakes. Yet, even with the mistakes, it can still turn out well if you know when to walk away for a while and get your perspective back. Successful racers know that you must have good tires properly suited for the track conditions; but they don't focus so much on the tires that they lose sight of the importance of the engine, and vice versa. They also know that every once in a while, you just have to put down what you were working on, go take a break and have a few good laughs with some friends. Presidents, at least good ones, try and strike a balance between any number of priorities. Unfortunately, depending on the voters, presidents sometimes have quite a bit more leeway than most people in determining whether their priorities will even be good ones to begin with. But those that do have good priorities, who really care about their job and about getting the things done that should get done, also know when it's time to take a break. Eisenhower went golfing, our beloved 40th president Mr. Reagan used to visit Camp David or his Rancho del Cielo to go fishing, riding, and get away from the noise and hype. George Bush Sr. went bowling. Bush Jr. got up every morning at 4:00 every morning before work to run. (Oops, maybe a made a mistake here: I forgot to ask, Is it okay to mention his name again?)
Pianists also, like everyone else, have to balance between keeping in mind their final goals with keeping in mind the best ways to get there. Sometimes, the best thing to do when you're struggling is to loosen up, refuse to allow your mind to be clouded over by the fear of failure, and say, "So what if I make a mistake?" Never lose sight of your goal, yet at the same time, realize that the path to "perfection" is characterized by mistakes. Let your goals and dreams guide you, but don't let them hound you. Sometimes, you just have to relax, have some fun, and allow yourself to make mistakes. Get your mind above the fear of failure. It is then that you can see more clearly what you're doing and what you need to change to accomplish your goals. Yes, this was all a part of my training, both as a pianist, and especially, as a Christian. So long as they're not family, whatever obstacles there are that might cause you to fail, including the fear of failure, remove them, whether they are a mental barrier, a negative person telling you you can't do it, or a politician who wants to tax, monitor or regulate you out of existence.