As we are still at the beginning of the new year, it is now we should look at those new year’s resolutions that we made, our dreams that we want to become real and the goals we would like to achieve.
It is the time to evaluate what we need to get on with, to achieve our dreams and our goals. It is time to take a good hard look at yourself and your knowledge, time management, and work-life to see what can be improved.
Knowing your limitations is a good start for example; what is limiting your chances to achieve your goals? What does it take to get from point A to point B?
What do you lack to get to where you want to be?
Say you want to become the most celebrated pianist in the world, what does it take to get there? Take a look at your practising routine, are you putting in enough hours to become the greatest pianist in the world? Are you utilising your own time in the best way possible to be the most effective when practising? Are you already the greatest pianist in the world but no one knows it? Well perhaps then less time needs to be spent in front of the piano and more time in front of people networking.
This applies to any industry; if we want to improve we need to face the hard fact that we have limitations and flaws. We will always have weaknesses but that does not mean that we can not work on them and improve.
Give yourself some honest and constructive feedback, but do not talk down to yourself. Do not be upset with yourself because you are not getting something straight away. It is hard to admit your weaknesses to yourself, but we have to do it if we want to improve.
Do you know where point B is?
It is easier to follow a route if you know your destination. It is easy to get sidetracked if you do not have a north star to guide you and to keep you motivated. Want to work on a big festival stage? Absolutely, but maybe that big festival is point C.
So you start working at your local one-day festival. You can not get to point C if you have not been going through point A and B first.
The ability to achieve something is only limited by a lack of knowledge. You need to study to improve your understanding, but then you need to put that study into practice.
There is only so much you can learn in a safe and comfortable environment. You have to put yourself outside your comfort zone to improve and to learn from real life experiences. It is so important to be able to work under pressure and to find opportunities to fine-tune your skills.
As well as knowing your limitations, you will need to learn and respect your strengths. For some, not acknowledging your strengths is a weakness. You have got to be confident in your knowledge, you have to tell yourself ‘You know what, this is what I am good at’ and use that to your advantage and balance it out with your weaknesses.
If you struggle to see your weaknesses and strengths then ask a good friend; what are my strengths? In what areas do I need to improve? Be open to feedback from others as they see you in a different light than you do. Being open to critique can be incredibly difficult for some, but it will help you to be able to improve your skills.
Now is the perfect time to sit down and write it all down. Aim high but be realistic, some goals might not happen this year, but that does not mean it will not happen in the future. However, getting to know your limitations will put you on the right path towards your dreams and goals.