A Tale of Two People

Today’s post is short and sweet. It involves a dilemma which you as a player or would-be player have to deal with. I call it the tale of two people dilemma and it goes like this…

Today’s post is short and sweet. It involves a dilemma which you as a beginning player or would-be player have to deal with. I call it the tale of two people dilemma and it goes like this.

Basically, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who are in love with the guitar and those who are in love with the idea of playing the guitar—those who understand that greatness only comes with hard work, sacrifice, and discipline, and those who think they’ll play as well as Joe Satriani after two weeks worth of lessons with no practice. The former have expectations consistent with the real world. The latter do not. Your level of mental toughness coupled with your expectations will determine which category you fall into.

If you’re struggling in your approach to the guitar, it could be because you have a romanticized notion of what it will take to reach your goals. That leads to a dilemma. Provided you’re in the “romanticized” category, you have a philosophical choice before you: Either stay as you are and never achieve your goals with the instrument or change and realize your potential as a guitarist.