One vital question that must be answered when giving consideration to competing is simply this. Why compete? Every person is made up differently, and motives for competing can vary drastically. Your answer to this question can be extremely revealing to the health status of your personal ambitions.
Early on, I had a youthful, unhealthy approach during many of my competition years. My unfortunate objective for competing was I wanted to win for the sake of winning and to increase my offensive pride. With this attitude came grave devastation if I didn’t win and dissatisfaction if I did win. When all you have is a desire to win with nothing else, than personal gratification will cease to exist soon after the title is awarded. I wasn’t happy with or without a trophy! Thankfully, I was not allowed to win the national championship until I had learned that it was a privilege and responsibility that must be accepted humbly and is most joyously received whenever personal motives are correctly placed.
Competition is best used to drive you to increase your playing abilities and ultimately expand the capabilities of your instrument. For example: auto racing has been around for years, and the competition has increased the performance of drivers and automobiles to levels that were unthinkable about 100 years ago. This is also true for musical instruments. There must be a desire to see the further advancement of your respective instrument. If somebody is better than you, don’t be jealous; be excited that your common goal of improving your instrument has been increased!
Competition is a great tool to improve your skills, expand your experience, and progress your instrument. These are the best and most fruitful reasons for competing. But regardless of your motives, make sure that you genuinely love your instrument, love playing, and want to use it to bring joy and happiness to your life and all who hear you play. With win or no win, this is guaranteed to bring satisfaction.
Have fun!
Tags: champion, Training for Competition