The way you perceive a process is entirely up to you. You can hold on for the ride, or you can shape the direction your train is heading. Either way, there are a bunch of internal – and external – factors that you should take into account. And sometimes doing the opposite of your usual routine just might be the way to go.
So, without further ado, here are some pointers on how to kick off next year full of fresh ideas and motivation.
Let’s start with some external factors…
Reframe your environment
Being a lone wolf can be the way to go.
From time to time you should think about opening up that working environment, though. Soaking in new inspiration by means of a wide range of stimuli can be vital.
It can help you regain a perspective on what it means to be a working musician. It can also show you that the struggle, the worries and challenges are widely spread among musicians. We’re all in the same pond, trying to stay afloat.
Changing your creative environment, be it by adding some extra collaborations to your workload in 2019, might be the spark that gets you going.
Brainfeed
Like your physical environment, move your head to places it’s hardly been before.
Go heavy on brainfeeding, meaning engage in listening session where you really dig deep.
Nothing boosts motivation like inspiration. Great music brings you back to the place where everything started. Prior to creating yourself, you were entirely listener.
And importantly – try to minimize your analytical brain. Try to purely enjoy the music, your creator’s mind will run on work mode soon enough.
Listening to great, new music is like building much needed, inspirational bridges in your brain. It connects things and opens new perspectives.
Embrace naivete
Being selectively naive is a hugely important skill.
You see, it was this state of naive, hungry desire to create that got most musicians started in the first place. It zooms in one the most important factors of sustained success – enjoyment.
Embracing the naive part of your music persona means revisiting a place that is without agenda, without pressure, without forced competitiveness. It let’s you create for the sake of creating, and that’s a drive that should always be present.
Now you might ask yourself – how can one actively pursue this naive state of creation. Usually it seems like a naturally given character trait. Either you’re a little naive, or you’re not.
Well actually, it’s very similar to sitting back and enjoying a show on Netflix or TV. It’s a question of narrative. And wether you allow your mind to wander off. Being naive means accepting the impossible, doing things that might not make any sense in the presence.
These might actually be the most important cornerstones of your journey along the way. So – do more things that don’t seem to make any immanent sense, in terms of agenda or getting places.
Being naive means playing around. Joyful interaction with the material, that might lead to more magic moments than you might think.
Minor plateaus
You designed an incredible synth sound? That’s a minor plateau. A tiny, tiny blog in France just featured your music? That’s a minor plateau. And even though these steps seem like small, small ripples hardly strong enough to carry a career, they matter. Greatly.
Celebrating minor plateaus will keep you in the game. It will sustain your motivation for times when the big changes come rolling in. They will keep you hungry.
That’s why ForTunes gives you a most complete overview of things happening around your music. We believe that every small feature and milestone eventually adds up to the greatness of a given project.
So keep digging for the Grammy gold, but also keep in mind the importance of minor, continuous steps of growth.
You can hardly climb a mountain on a stroll.
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