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What SCARES You? (One Thought Thursday 041)
Published 12 months ago • 4 min read
“Fear-of-missing-out is more powerful than fear of losing.” ― Naved Abdali
I mentioned the above quote in this week's episode of the podcast. Again, I don't think we can count this a "measured statistic" just yet, but I do think there's something to it.
All this FOMO talk got me thinking about the MANY things we find ourselves afraid of as studio music teachers. I work with teachers often who carry the following fears:
Charging too much
Charging too little
Missing out on resources and/or materials
Making the "wrong" choices in their studio policies
Being TOO demanding
Not being demanding enough
Being seen as an imposter
Actually BEING an imposter
(and, the list could go on and on)
In the end, most of these fears can be boiled down to the Fear of Missing Out.
...missing out on income, or the quality of life you want (or even need).
...missing out on being "accepted" by your profession
....missing out on knowledge
...missing out on achieving "potential" (if this is you, listen to this IMMEDIATELY)
So, Christina... why does this even matter?
As I often say, NAMING THE THING MATTERS.
Friend: Name your fear. Be as specific as possible, and then get to the root of it.
I've learned, as a profession, we're a little prone to avoiding uncomfortable topics. (ahem🥶)
If so, you can get to work on a course of correction. If not, you can lay those fears to rest.
We have too much good work to accomplish in this world to get bogged down by fear, friends.
Hit that reply button and TELL ME: What is YOUR biggest TeacherFear? Remember: naming the thing matters.
🥂Cheers to getting to the bottom of those nagging anxieties so we can move forward with our contributions. 🥂
A FOMO-Inspired SPECIAL EVENT:
As I mentioned in this week's episode, I am in the process of EXTREME moping over not attending the MTNA Conference next week in Atlanta.
I am already having major FOMO over the friends I will miss meeting and chatting with, not to mention the informative sessions I will not be learning from.
In an attempt to do something fruitful (re: stop pouting and take action!), I've decided to offer *my* most popular conference session: The Varsity Musician's Playbook, in a special LIVE event.
On Tuesday, March 19th, I will give a refreshed version of this session at NOON, eastern time. Replays will be available for 6 months after purchase.
The Varsity Musician's Playbook examines my research into Team Sports Psychology and applies it to the studio environment so you can build enthusiastic studio "teams" of your own.
If you ever find yourself feeling defeated over the pull team sports seem to have over your students, THIS is the session for you.
Registrants will receive replay access to the live presentation for 6 months, as well as printable downloads to help you apply the information to your own studio situation.
*this specific presentation features a significant update from the original 2016 session. If you've caught it elsewhere, there *will* be new never-heard-before elements worth checking out!
As you can probably tell, this week is all about FOMO. In this case, I'm talking about using this fear to Fuel your Recital Attendance.
Even if you're not interested in applying this information to recitals, Episode 160 has plenty of crossover potential to any studio event (and even the lessons themselves).
It's that time of year! If you are tasked with adjudicating any events this spring, do yourself a favor and check out Episode 111, a replay of my episode titled, "Cheers to Adjudication Success". (I'm suggesting the replay because you get to hear my cute girls give my Intro and Outro).
Those in the Patreon community have truly proven to be "my people".
I love starting my week with the same faces in Monday Morning Power Hour, as well as communicating throughout the month in various capacities, namely through Teachers Teaching Teachers (TTT), which is hands-down THE most affordable professional development the Internet has to offer.
If you want to say THANKS for the work I do, plus score yourself some terrific bonuses, I can't encourage you enough to try it out!
I'm a HUGE FAN of Mary Leaf, at all levels of composition.
One rule for Mary Leaf? NEVER skip the teacher duets.
Her teacher duet parts for her early-elementary compositions contain the most colorful harmonies. I always want to play them over and over again (and my students do, too).
If you ever struggle with questions of "is my method the problem?" or, "is it me?"
I have good news for you.
Check out this resource, which helps reframe the true role of a method series in your teaching. It also provides you with an essential exercise to make sure YOU are the true leader of your instruction.
*This email may contain affiliate links. That's just smart business, but please know all recommendations are purely my own, and are absent of any icky ulterior sales motives.