Five Flaws in New Year Resolutions That Can Sabotage Your Music Therapy Activities
The start of a new year often serves as an opportunity for people to evaluate their lives and set goals for improvement in the coming months. While this is an admirable endeavor, keeping those resolutions can be challenging; according to Statista’s survey, only 22% of Americans actually follow through with their New Year’s resolutions.
Making new year resolutions can seem like a daunting task, no matter your experience level. No matter if you’re just beginning to set them or an experienced pro at it, there are some inherent flaws in the traditional method for setting them that may hinder your chances of success.
First and foremost, too often we make resolutions that are not truly our own. These could include goals set by someone else (a manager or spouse/friend), rather than ones you set for yourself. This can occur when trying to form healthy habits like eating healthier or losing weight but are being coerced or forced into them by another individual.
Second, too many people make resolutions that are “shot in the dark”: they want to improve at playing an instrument or learning a particular skill, yet don’t know exactly how. While this is not necessarily a problem in and of itself, it can cause you to lose motivation and become discouraged as your initial enthusiasm wears off.
Third, too many people make resolutions that do not align with their musical life: they may wish to become an amazing singer but don’t know what makes a great singer or how it would feel to sing better. They might decide that playing scales is important but have no clue why or how it will benefit their musicianship.
Fourth, too often people neglect to write down their goals: this makes them much more likely to be remembered if they are recorded. Furthermore, having them written down helps keep track of progress – an essential step in fulfilling a resolution.
Fifth, too often we set goals that are impossible or unrealistic: these can be daunting tasks to achieve. To make things easier, break your goals down into small, achievable steps and commit to working at them daily. For instance, if your ambition is to become an excellent pianist but you don’t have the funds or time for private instruction, make a small but realistic resolution of practicing scales once a week.
If your goal is to perform at a local band or orchestra event on a certain date, then making the effort towards this goal should be possible. This could involve taking a songwriting course or challenging yourself by singing an unfamiliar Broadway show tune or classical art song that you have never played before.