[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]
There is always room for improvement, whether you’re a singer, a choir leader, a choral arranger, a workshop leader or a choir committee member. But it can become overwhelming if you tackle everything at once and try to make too many changes.
Focus on just a few small changes for the better. Here’s how.
It’s that time when many of us make resolutions for the year to come. Then about a week later we start beating ourselves up for breaking them!
I’ve written before about the process of setting goals for the coming year (guaranteed to work!), and Nina Grunwald gave 7 fool-proof steps for achieving your singing goals.
It’s also good idea to look back at the last year before you think about any changes you might want to make in the future. I gave a few ideas in Looking forward/ Looking back.
There are two further ideas I’d like to add.
Don’t be over-ambitious and set yourself unrealistic goals.
The easiest way to do this is to think of a small number of very specific changes you want to make.
There is that old chestnut: if all is fine – carry on; if things aren’t right – change something. Simple!
Even though it might feel that everything is fine, it is always possible to improve the situation or shake things up by doing things differently.
One idea is to think of two things you’d like to change in response to the following questions:
There are studies which show that if you write down your goals, you are more likely to achieve them. It doesn’t matter if you write them down on a piece of paper or on your computer, as long as you write them.
Even more so, sharing your goals with others will also increase your chances of achieving them. That’s because when you share your goals with other people you feel a greater sense of responsibility, as you don’t want to let those people down.
Your next step then is to come up with a (short) list of small things you want to change this year. Then you can leave a comment here and share with the rest of us. You’re more likely to achieve what you want then. Go on – you know it makes sense!
Happy New Year and may all your dreams and hopes come true in the coming year.
See you next week and I look forward to reading about the changes you want to make.
Chris Rowbury
website: chrisrowbury.com
blog: blog.chrisrowbury.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/ChrisRowbury
Twitter: Twitter.com/ChrisRowbury
Monthly Music Roundup: Tinyletter.com/ChrisRowbury
