‘Tis the season of new years resolutions. In that spirit I thought it would be a good time to re-post something I wrote a few years back. The following post, dedicated to the memory of Jeffrey Weng, is a good reminder (if only for me!) that we often live too carefully, afraid to take the chances to reach for the things we dream of. For what its worth….
“What if…”
You only get one shot… at this thing called life. If there is one thing I’ve learned in my short life-span it is that you never want to wonder “what if…”. You pursue things not just to wonder if you can achieve them, but to ultimately answer “what if”… No one likes to fail, but what if that is the only way to “know” for sure? To know “if” you were supposed to do this, or go there. Doesn’t a clear “No”, or “failure” point toward the other direction? (Where you currently are..) Couldn’t it help you stay and persist on your current path? Isn’t there some benefit in “knowing where you can’t or weren’t supposed to go”?
Why are we all so afraid of failing? Without failure there is no taste of success. Without failure success would have no meaning! Deep down, I think we all wish we could feel better about admitting failure! In failure we learn the most. The most about who we are and who we are supposed to become. In failure we find drive, drive to over achieve and move forward. Being human means being flawed. If we don’t acknowledge that than we have already lost! Embrace your flaws and don’t be afraid to admit to them. Our flaws define our own “musicianship”. A musicianship that can never be duplicated because perfection would be “antiseptic” at best!
Couldn’t we all ask ourselves the question: “What if I….. (fill in the blank)”. In success we achieve a dream.. in failure we are reaffirmed in our current path. Either way we are left confident in who we are and what we are doing! Or, are YOU afraid of exposing yourself? Sure, it is risky… to go for it, actually try and live your dreams, but wouldn’t it be better to risk all? Risk everything just to find out: “What if?”….. At least then, no matter what happens, you WILL KNOW “what if..”.
Dedicated in memory of Jeffrey Weng: 7/1/89 – 2/15/09
What new years resolutions are you looking to make? Leave your comments below.
Originally posted on DrumChattr on December 26, 2010 by Thomas Burritt.
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The photo in this post is used under the Creative Commons License: Attribution – NonCommercial – No Derivs 2.0 by William Murphy on Flickr.com.
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