Awareness – The Key to Making Progress

There are so many things going on in our fast-paced world that sometimes we end up missing the little things in life. It can be a real challenge to focus on the present moment and not be thinking about what happened yesterday or what will be happening tomorrow! Planning for the future is important, however, the most important thing students can do to improve their skills is to develop awareness in their practice time. 

At this point, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve told current and former students to “Try that again a little bit slower.” It happens in nearly every lesson for a good reason – it’s easier to notice what is happening when you slow something down! Imagine taking a ride in the car to a place that you are used to, but instead of going the normal speed, you go at a much slower speed. Now you might start to notice some of the trees on the side of the road, or maybe you will notice certain places to eat or shop at that you haven’t been to yet. These discoveries might surprise you, but the funny thing is that they were always there – you just might not have noticed them before! Similarly, when mistakes happen in practice time, we might not notice them if we go too fast. But if we can spot them, then we can fix them!