New Realization I Learned After Practicing

 Hi Friends! It has been a while 👋😆😅

 I graduated from high school a couple months ago and I wanted to share a realization that I had this year about growth, and to share some encouragement during this time. I feel like the best way to start sharing this realization/encouragement is to start out with a saying that I would tell myself when I was learning a new technique, that you might also be able to use in the future. 

"I may feel silly right now, but down the line, I'll be better at it!"

When we start learning a new technique for the first time whether it's in playing a sport, learning an instrument, or doing something artsy we tend to be pessimistic because we have expectations to be able to do something really well the first time and when we don't, we tend to accept that we are just bad at that thing, that the people who can do those things are talented, and that you either have the skill to do that certain thing or you don't. Although the reality is that those people who are talented at the said thing have actually spent a lot of time honing in on their craft, experimenting with new techniques, and figuring out the best things to use while doing that activity. It can take a long time before you feel like you are "good enough" and even then, you are in a lifelong learning process. One of my favorite quotes that shows this is: "Work hard! In the end, passion and hard work beats out natural talent." -Pete Docter 
The reason why I like this quote so much is because talents that were given to us by God are not only used to glorify him but also to grow with him as well because there will be times where you feel good about what you are doing but also days where you feel bad about what you are doing and that you feel like you cannot improve is the time where I use my statement up above. 

During the past year when I was learning how to play saxophone, most of the time when I was learning something new I would either cringe at myself for playing that way, make faces because something did not sound right, or say NOPE/ That's not right. At those times I felt like I wanted to quit because I couldn't get those techniques down right away, my tone wasn't what I wanted (I sounded like a dying duck 😝) and my flute playing was just so much better  and because of that, I felt like I really wanted to quit at times. 

When I wanted to quit I reminded myself that:

 1) When I first started playing flute, I also felt the same way that I do currently while playing saxophone. 

2) To lower my expectations because it truly takes time to  develop tone and technique on an instrument 

3) To have fun during this time of learning a new instrument because I will never have that time back. 

The time I spent the past year learning saxophone, getting out of my comfort zone and learning new ways to play showed me that I really needed to:

1) Trust myself and that I was doing the best that I could. 

2) Trust God that even in this time of learning and growth and that this would help me expand and help me use the new techniques that I have learned so I could use them to help others and share the love of God while I was playing.

 I know it is really hard not to be hard on yourself while learning something new but I promise that if you keep working on something diligently then you will become better at that thing that you practiced. Here is your reminder that if you have always wanted to start something but you always feel discouraged that YOU CAN DO THIS and that failing is a part of life and that learning from our mistakes can help make us better. 

I hoped this helped and if you decide to try something new let me know what you tried by leaving a comment down below 

💕 Flutetastic 💕