Advice on how to change ones atitude?

[colinboy]

Hey there,

My names Colin and im relatively new to this forum.id like to say im a principled player like most of you guys but im not.i do own the GP book,deeper,rhythm etc etc.Im abig fan of Jamies methods of teaching and the deeper it goes the deeper it gets book is prob my favourite book.It really broadened my way of thinking about everything from myself and the world in general.I suppose im like one of these people who thinks too much and doesnt take enough action,too much time thinking about why im not a great player instead of just focusing on the music and my love for it.
Ive used the principles for a while. I'm playing guitar on&off for 15 years and have not reached the level of playing that i know deep down i could achieve if i put my mind to it.Ive never in all these years been able to consistenly get into a proper practice routine and get the desired results that im looking for.

I apolygise for the long essay on my minor personal issues with regards this great instrument and my atitude towards it.

Any advice would be greatly apperciated,

Thanks in advance
Colin

[Guillaume]

Hi Colin,

I once felt like you describe... but to a lesser degree I think...

The attitude that I have now is completely different from the one I had 2 or 3 years ago.

The main difference is that now I -- see... and I KNOW -- that I have the potential to develop any skill I desire enough. I know it. I can feel that potential running into my blood. When I feel a bit down, I just have to *feel* that potential that is in me. It is a great source of energy.

It is now painfully obvious to me that everyone is capable of recognizing this unlimited potential in themselves.

To do so, a great first step would be to get in touch with great people whose attitude and accomplishment inspire you.

Me, I had the good fortune to meet Jamie Andreas..... Ney Mello........ Jamie Glaser......... and other people that had a profound influence on my life, and still continue to do so.

I know for sure that I would still be stuck into my old limiting views of reality if I did not get in touch with these people. I have not idea if radical improvements to one's attitude can be self-induced..... I don't think so.

I am sure your attitude already changed just by studying Jamie's books............


BOTTOM LINE : How to change ones attitude?

1. You have to want a change.

2. Get in touch with people that have the qualities you would like to recognize in yourself.

[Jamie]

I would add to Guillaume's heartfelt advice.

You are probably saying "but I do want to change, that is why I wrote this".

But in fact, you are a divided self. And so, you must commune with, you must study and observe, the part of you that does not want to change.

I believe Guillaume gave a great hint, when he emphasized the power of his feeling that he COULD do it...........his belief. That means at one time he did not have it, and one time his belief was that he couldn't.

Until we embrace and know our weak selves, we can never be strong. Most people try to hide or deny their weak and troubled selves. Oh sure, they will sometimes admit it, and because they are controlled by it, they think they are in touch with it. But they are not at peace with it, they are at war with it, and so will never unify with it.

Do you commune with the part of you that does not beleive you can succeed with guitar? Or, perhaps you do not have this belief. Perhaps your lack of application stems from the fact that you sincerely don't want to make a big commitment to guitar, as Guillaume has done, in which case, you must commune with that, and be at peace with it. Then, inner movement will occur.

[colinboy]

Thanks sincerely for the advice guys.I think deep down i am at war with myself on adaily basis about what i want and where im headed in life in general.

With regards guitar playing i dont think ive ever believed deep down that i was capable of achieving great things and maybe still dont.i need to change my atitude firstly and try and figure out what i really want and whether i want to make the commitment thats required to reach the ability that i 'think' that i desire.
Jamie these weaknesses that you talk about could you offer further insight if you wouldnt mind explaining abit more.

Thanks,
Colin

[Jamie]

You do not have to believe you can be a great player in order to become one, or to work the way you need to to become one. I did not always believe I could be a great player. I worked with full devotion anyway, because I love the guitar so much, and I need it. Believing you can is just nicer, and easier! What kind of love would it be if I said to my guitar "I'll only spend time with you if I know I can be a great player. As it turns out, after awhile, my guitar let me know I could be a great player, and that was cool too!

Can you accept the fact that perhaps you don't need to be a great player, and that is fine. The guitar can still be in your life, on its own terms, the appropriate terms? Perhaps the intensity of your relationship to it will vary throughout your life, in a appropriate (for you ) rhythm.

The way to do is to be.

[~J~]

i felt like mentioning "honesty" after reading through this... honestly.

WHat i mean is, in terms of what you may like to do with guitar. just be honest with how you feel... always. That was one of my biggest downfalls in relationship to guitar, i think.... better yet i know.

NOw instead of holding this idea of playing the guitar great, reaching my full potential as a "GREAT GUITARIST", being able to do all kinds of awesome stuff, mastery over a lot of the material found in the styles of today, and blowing the mind of myself and anyone who watches me, and maybe being a "special guitarist", or some shit like that (the general idea)... (there may have been just a bit of ego in this "perception" of what exactly i would have liked to do with guitar???)... Umm, ya. there was. definitely was.

i guess you could say when one has a lot of work set out( a big commitment) for yourself that you DO:NT REally want to even do(or at least not that bad)... things can be a little stressful. miserable. crapy. for he who does not live in truth. for not being honest and really not being REAL...not being themselves. how silly is that. no wonder it was so hard for me to practice 6 hours a day!! and that didn't happen very long... nor did i ever get a full 6 hour day.

as soon as i uncovered this false sense of self and came to peace with it as jamie says. i could simply be honest with my relationship to the guitar and be like, " hey i love to play music, guitar has always been very attracting to me, i'm also getting more into other instruments, however guitar is probably my favorite for sure.. for now. and i'm not sure exactly HOW I want to be involved in music but as for now just feel my way and only do what feels good. only play the songs that i would love to play, only play as long as it feels good... guitar should never be something i HAVE to do but something i love to do, create anything that i'd enjoy doing (band, song, short piece"short poem" AND of coarse working to be able to do whatever it is i'd like to BE DOING) KEYWORD: BE. so like it has been said. the way to do is to be.

THe moral of the story is when you can be honest with yourself and how you feel in relationship to guitar/music/even life... you'll be happier! anyone you share the music with will be happier! even your guitar will be happier and life will be much sweeter!!

So basically, what jamie said, but with my experience which i hope is of value.

[N E Y]

Hello Colin,

I see that Jamie and Guillaume have already answered....I am going to write mine first, before I read theirs, and after that I will read Jamie's and Guillaume's....I would bet that we all will say, more or less, the same thing...??? Let's see...


What counts is not what we say we want or what we say we are....All that is worth nothing at all. What counts is what we DO.
I can say to myself that I love to play guitar . Yet , If I do not play guitar everyday, - occasional breaks are fine - I just don't love the guitar. I can say I do but if I look around me and I see people playing guitar everyday and trying to play more. That means: They love to play and I don't . Only when I become like them will the words " I love to play guitar " mean anything.


You see , in my life I never said to myself " I love music " or " I love the guitar" Those sentences don't make sense to me! They have nothing to do with why I play..They are just words..abstractions..They are nothing to me. What I feel towards the guitar and music is FELT it is EXPERIENCED . It has nothing to do with me saying anything to myself or anyone else. It just IS. I simply HAVE to play guitar and I do. I simply HAVE to eat everyday and I do. I simply HAVE to have a house to live in and have my recording studio and I do. I simply HAVE to have friends and I do.

I am compelled to play. I don't care if it is Love or indifference . They are just words to me . What counts is what I DO.

So when I say "LOVE only will make you play" , I mean REAL love not me talking to myself or trying to talk myself into playing guitar. I do not have to convince myself to play. I need to play the guitar like I need to eat and breathe , in that way I am the same as any any artist must be to become proficient. When you want something that bad you whatever it takes...I have students come to my studio nationally and from England , Canada, Spain, Belgium etc...They really love to play the guitar to make so much effort and work so hard to be able to afford me and the trip. But I understand them perfectly because I have been working very hard like them for over 30 years on the guitar. I not only understand them but I KNOW precisely how they feel.



If you don't feel that way it is best to do what you really want to do , at least until you feel like playing . One might THINK it is cool be looked at as a guitarist but that in itself not love for the guitar. One might think that music is awesome and love to listen to it , but all that is not love for playing the guitar.



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[colinboy]

Thanks to ney,jamie and the other guys for their valuable input and advice.its has been taken on board i can assure you and im goin to sort myself out and decide on what i really want.
I think i thought i was being honest with myself but i must now make some decisions.

I think in my own mind that i deserve to be that great player and should be one by now but i see now that i havent worked hard enough to be deserving of a great player title or actually desire to be as good as i keep telling myself i should be.

I think its time to open jamies book deeper again and to do some soul searching once and for all.

thanks for all yer time and advice,

Colin,Ireland