all in

When I was 9, I started lessons on my very first musical instrument – the piano. Thing was, having two competitive siblings play the same instrument wasn’t the best idea, especially when one (my brother) was several years ahead of the other (me).

When I was 10, I started playing the flute.  I didn’t really choose it. It just happened to be the other instrument my music instructor taught. I guess you could say the flute chose me.

So I went for it. I started on a standard, beginner flute. Eventually, my teacher felt like she had taught me what she could, so she referred me to another teacher. Around middle school, I was ready for an advanced flute. The two aren’t all that different, except for the keys. The advanced flute is called an open hole flute. Essentially, the keys have holes in them that your fingers have to cover. And when your finger doesn’t cover a hole completely, well, let’s just say it makes the every dog and cat within a square mile run for cover.

When I got my new flute, I pulled out all the plugs and started squalling – or, practicing. It hadn’t occurred to me to do it any other way. When I went to my lesson that week, my teacher laughed. “Wow, you just went cold-turkey,” she said. “Most people take out the plugs one key at a time.”

I hadn’t even considered that. I had a goal and I just went for it. I was all in. That’s who I am. I commit. I wholeheartedly pursue what I want.

Sometimes I have to help myself remember that. It’s easy to get discouraged when roadblocks keep popping up, when you’re heading toward something and then you find yourself nose-to-nose with a brick wall. It would be easy to shrug and find a new path, to ask my GPS to route me to a new destination. But I’m all in. So I’m climbing the brick walls and jumping over the hurdles. I’m not a good jumper, so it’s likely I’ll fall on my face a few times. But I’m great at getting back up.

And just like with my flute, I’ll probably look or sound nuts in the process, but eventually I’ll get there. And every brick wall I had to climb will look like a tiny step helping me on my way.

What about you – do you have goals you’re wholeheartedly pursuing? Have you gotten up close and personal with some brick walls?

life updates, reflections disappointments, goals, life, roadblocks Comments