Emily F. ER 11

Emily F. ER 11: We get ourselves wrapped up in the "shoulds" so much that we can't recognize learning for what it is, and we miss the successes we do have. We all have our judges that tell us how much and what and how well we should be doing. We need to be able to talk back to these shoulds, make realistic choices, and let go of the idea of perfectionism. Being afraid to fail often takes away our energy, our emotion about what we're doing. Authenticity is free to abound when we aren't worried about if we're doing something "right", and in singing, we want to be moving and authentic. It's just a tough balance between doing our best and allowing ourselves to be free and sincere. 
Key concept: Fear of failure can rob us of the experiences that we're really going after. 
Key terms: success, failure
Making connections: Yeah, this speaks to me. This semester is the busiest I've been in my life. Raising four kids (two teenagers in there!), almost full-time school, a husband who works 60 hours a week, and church commitments all combine to make things seem impossible some days. I've had some experience dealing with my "shoulds". I've learned that if I listen to them, there is truly no end to them. For me, this means I just need to decide what I will or won't do, and what is most important to me. I've gotten a lot better at this, but sometimes because I have committed to something, I hate to feel like I'm failing. I get frustrated with my singing because "I'm paying for this, my family is sacrificing time and energy so that I can do this, so I better be good right NOW!" It's certainly a challenge to balance everything. I hope I can remember to keep things in perspective. Some days I do and others, not so much.