#068: Mindset Reset: Keeping the Play in Your Playing

Today is Labor Day in the United States. The very first Labor Day was celebrated exactly 140 years ago today on September 5, 1882. It was intended as a holiday for the general working population in recognition of their contributions to the country’s prosperity and strength. At that time it was decided that the celebrations should include a parade to showcase the trade and labor unions and a picnic for the workers and their families.

Today, 140 years later, Labor Day celebrations still include parades and picnics. Labor Day also marks the traditional end of summer holidays and the beginning of a new school year. 

The idea of Labor Day - to celebrate and honor work and toil - is a powerful one, and one that I would like to suggest has application to our harp playing. That’s the key word - playing. 

We work so hard to make our playing what we want it to be, what we think it should be. By contrast, how much time do we take to celebrate our hard work or even to simply enjoy playing the harp? What if our harp journey was more about playing, about the joy of music, and less about the drudgery we associate with practice.

I’m not suggesting you stop practicing, although I do want you to enjoy your Labor Day picnic today. What I suggest is that we make a mindset shift that we can bring to our practice every single day. Our harp practice is the consistent habit that leads to our growth as harpists but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun too.

So today we are going to talk about how to turn your practice mindset into a play mindset. I have 10 quick and easy tips that you can use to reshape your approach to your practice, to practice with your focus on the positive instead of the negative. I’m going to help you learn to celebrate your playing, even when the going is tough. 

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 

• Coaching Enrollment is now open. Click here to reserve your spot.
• Related resource: Healthy Practice for Harpists: Nourish Your Body, Mind and Music blog post
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]