To achieve the highest versions of ourselves, it's necessary to stay open and be sure we're not rigid. We are alive, which means we are in a constant state of motion where nothing is permanent. There are times of significant forward motion and times where the motion is much slower. Sometimes we have substantial shifts and other times they are smaller, baby steps. There are even times of dormancy. Like a beautiful plant, when we have the right conditions, we have the potential to flourish and thrive. We will grow gorgeous flowers at certain times of the year, and we may lose our leaves during others. It’s all part of the evolution of our being. What do the conditions look like for you that allow you to flourish and bloom?
For me to bloom, I need to have change. Evolution, if you will. Pivots. I have pretty intense and impactful phases of motion and creativity, and then I have periods of time where I just want to lay in bed in my pajamas and watch reruns of Monk. Through 2015-2016 I was in a state of dormancy, where I wrote a book on teaching, but I wasn’t really creating anything new. It was an important work of self-reflection and integral for me to be able to bloom.
When we make shifts in our career, it’s important to ask ourselves: Will this change/pivot help me become more honest with my values and get me closer to my goals, or am I doing this for my social self, which is the version of ourselves and how we want to be perceived by our colleagues and peers. I started my teaching career in the ‘social self’ sector, and have grown into my authentic/essential self over the years. As an example, I recently expanded our music lessons to not only in-home but also video-on-demand and online. I want to see more blooms in the local and global community! I was able to enter another geographic area for little to no effort and extra investment by adding in-home lessons, and with a bit more substantial investment, the world is now open to my video-on-demand lessons.
Being a professional musician, there are many facets to our careers. We have times where we focus on our teaching careers, or performing. We also have times where we may expend a lot of energy writing, or researching. We may change our business models. Are these really pivots or are we simply focusing our energy where we feel energized? As I see it, pivoting is when the direction changes, but with new information and experiences, all growth is change and those of us who are blooming, are in a constant state of motion and change. A pivot would imply movement away from a central purpose, but what if the movement is actually toward something that is more authentic to you?
What is Your Why?
Why do you make strategic changes in your personal life, business and otherwise? I feel confident in what I have put together, so why am I always changing it up? It’s very simple to me: I want to keep growing and realizing my highest potential. This means teaching potential, market share potential, earning potential, giving potential, etc…I am constantly looking at ways for improvement and of particular interest to me is human behavior. Some recent changes, in the last two years, include giving a facelift to our every single one of our performance events on the calendar, I’ve retired from adjudicating, took two years off of giving presentations, wrote a book and expanded the school’s market reach by offering in-home lessons, after school lessons in private schools and using video-on-demand. Why? Impact. It’s more important to me to make a splash in my community than it is to keep the status quo. It’s integral for me to create my own path. Creating resources and getting a message of music being in every child and their ability to achieve extraordinary results no matter what level they are, is integral to my human experience. I needed to get myself blooming again. I was not inspired or blooming, and if I’m not blooming then how are the people around me going to?
Pivot, evolve. Do what YOU need to do in order to reach your best self. Cheers to the beautiful garden we will create. I'd love to hear how you're evolving and making pivots. Send me an email to kristin@musicalminds.org!