The Myth of Being 100% Ready

Not long ago I was backstage at one of my students’ concerts.

“How’re you feeling?” I asked the usual question I’ve heard directed at myself many times in the past.

“I don’t think I’m ready.”

I know the feeling. Maybe if I’d practiced more. Maybe if I’d had an extra lesson. Perhaps I wasn’t as focused in my daily practicing. Should’ve only taken half a sick day when I had the flu. If only…

Like most young classical musicians, I chased perfection. I took every precaution to not get injured from overplaying, to not get sick in the winter…I told myself if I practiced five or six hours every day I would feel ready when I walked on stage. Then I pushed seven hours. But by the time I’d get to an audition or any kind of performance, I’d discover something else I could improve on. The chase was endless!

So perfection, packaged with a bow on top like I imagined it’d metaphorically be once I achieved it, never really materialized.

I landed my first professional orchestra gig with a major ballet company orchestra right after finishing undergrad. I got the call (which I missed) to jump in on 48h notice while walking out of a coffee shop on my way to a grad class. I listened to the voicemail with excitement while the other side of me thought: I’m not ready. I’d played in a conservatory orchestra and a couple smaller community ensembles prior. I needed more time to prepare, to practice, to just mentally get ready. So I wrote a polite email as I was about to head into the subway and lose reception:

Dear Maestro,

Thank-you for the recommendation, but unfortunately I don't think I'm ready to take this performance engagement...(followed by my many well-defended reasons).

Less than half an hour later, my phone pinged with an email alert. His response was simple and to the point.

With that mentality, you'll never be ready for anything.

I got the point. My next email went to the ballet company to accept the performance engagement.

Life has an interesting way of presenting us with opportunities. We imagine them on our terms, but they hardly arrive as such. The ideal gig had presented itself on its own time with its own conditions. My job was to accept or decline, not to rewrite the offer.

A performance coach/therapist in Boston once advised: if you wait until you feel 100% ready you’re never going to achieve anything. You’ll always be stuck at the current stage you’re at waiting to ‘perfect it’ before you move on. And you’ll most definitely not enjoy any of it. Opportunities will pass you by because you’re stuck in ‘not 100% ready’ mentality.

Your career - just like life - is a journey, not a destination. No one ever feels 100% ready for the big moments. Have a few goals in mind, a combination of short- and long-term, and work on them simultaneously. Start getting ready so that when opportunities arrive, often quietly and when least expected, you've got a running start. There will always be room for improvement, that's the beauty of growing as an artist and an individual. Growth happens through action during uncertainty.

#performanceadvice #teaching #musicskills #lifeskills

Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall (Manhattan, NYC)