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What is it that
separates the good players from the great players? It's more than ability. It's
more than determination. It's the ability to achieve goals. The key to achieving
goals is knowing how and what kind of goals to set.
Dio Saucedo is the percussionist for musical legend George Benson. In addition,
Dio is a Ph.D. in educational psychology and a consultant to the Athletic Department
at the University of California, Riverside. In the following article Dio explains
how you can become one of the great players by learning how to continually set
and achieve personal goals.
Dio Saucedo
Laying the Foundation for Success: Goal Setting
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if
you want to be a successful musician you have to have a plan
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Ask professional athletes
what it takes to be successful and, in general, they will all come up with the
same responses: responsibility, motivation, commitment, focus, intensity, passion,
and vision. However, if you ask them to identify the single most important characteristic
for their success they will all say that it was their willingness and desire to
work toward achieving specific, well-defined goals.
If you are an aspiring musician you are no different than a professional athlete.
But in order to become the best musician you can possibly be you must be prepared
to turn your vision into action. In other words, you must set goals for yourself.
Short-term and long-term, immediate and delayed, it doesn't matter; you must set
goals that are challenging but reachable.
Gary Mack, a noted sports psychologist with the Seattle Mariners writes:
"Goal setting, done correctly, is the most powerful development that we know
of. Winners in life have usually mastered the skill of setting challenging and
realistic goals, figuring out what they have to do on a day-by-day basis to achieve
them, and making the commitment to do what is required. As they achieve each goal
they set, they become more skillful, grow in confidence, and move closer to their
future dream."
Goal setting, according to Gary Mack, helps direct our attention, makes us work
harder, longer and more productively, and increases our feelings of personal control
and self-confidence.
What then, are the keys to effective goal setting? For the past 4 years I have
had the benefit of working with college Athletes. The first thing I ask each athlete
to do is to go out and buy a notebook. They are asked to carry this notebook with
them each and every day until the season is over. In their notebook, they are
asked to respond to questions such as the following --and you may want to do the
same:
a) Why do you play sports (music)?
b) What is your ultimate dream?
c) What are your immediate goals?
This is just a sampling of some of the questions I ask college athletes, but the
point is you must be willing to spend some time seriously thinking about where
you are versus where you would like to be, and who you are versus who you would
like to become.
What should you do next? When it comes to goal setting, one of the biggest problems
most people have is being SPECIFIC! The key to improving yourself is to honestly
and accurately identify the specific things you need to improve upon. Typically,
when I ask College athletes what their goals are for the season they usually say
something like, "Dude, I want to be All-Universe. I want to hit 50 home runs
and have 100 RBI's." This sounds great and may even be reachable (for some),
but it doesn't include the specifics of how to get there. In other words, what
will this person do each and every day to reach his goals? Which brings me to
my final point: if you want to be successful you have to set a goal for yourself
every day. It doesn't have to be a big goal. In fact, this is why I ask College
athletes to carry their notebooks with them all season, so they can write down
a small, challenging, realistic, reachable goal each day; one that can be measured
and evaluated at the end of the day; one that will be motivating and provide a
sense of accomplishment when it has been reached.
The bottom line is this: if you want to be a successful musician you have to have
a plan; you have to set small goals that are reachable and measurable. Are you
committed? Are you willing to work hard and long at your craft? This it what separates
the men from the boys. Great athletes and great musicians know that in order to
reach greatness you must be willing to work at your craft, and you have to set
your goals.
For more information on goal setting strategies feel free to contact the following
individuals:
Dio Saucedo, Ph.D University of California, Riverside;
Percussionist/vocalist with the George Benson Band
(909) 683-7004
Ken Ravizza, Ph.D California State University at Fullerton;
Sports Psychologist, California Mariners
Gary Mack, Sports Psychologist, Seattle Mariners
1-800-BatMack |
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