Your Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal, that is.
We tend to set goals or resolutions for ourselves at the beginning of the year, and I think that can be a wonderful exercise that helps us to envision how we want our future to be. I spent a good deal of time at the end of last year and the beginning of this year thinking about my goals. This being 2020, it's great to be thinking about my "vision" for the future.
But now that it's February, the *new* of the new year has worn off a bit, and I'm back living in reality. Let's face it. Setting goals is the easy part. Achieving those goals is harder. My January wasn't as successful as I was hoping it would be, for reasons that were sometimes preventable, but often unpredictable. But now at the beginning of this month, I've got the chance to reset, look again at my goals, and go at them with a fresh start.
For the next few weeks, I'm going to talk about how to set goals for your voice. The first step is to get a little creative and dream about what you would like your voice to be. But rather than just focusing on the skills you might want to achieve (which are important), think about how you want to feel about your voice. What would singing well feel like to you? How would you like to feel when you step onstage, or when you step off stage after a performance? What are feelings or emotions that you have attached to your voice right now that aren't serving you well?
Here's the thing: You can develop amazing technical abilities in your singing, but there is always more to do there. And it won't matter a lick if you have great technical prowess but still feel insecure about your voice when you're onstage. (Hint: technical skill doesn't erase insecurity. They are two separate things that must be addressed individually.)
So your homework for this week is to take some time and think about what you would like to feel like when you are singing. And REALLY take the time. Setting this kind of goal deserves your attention, so please don't rush through this or try to multitask while thinking through this. Make yourself a cup of tea (it's Fe-brew-ary, after all!) and dream. Maybe journal about it, draw pictures, or create a vision board that expresses your future self and her feelings about her voice.
And DREAM BIG! This is no time for hedging your bets. For this part of the goal setting, the sky's the limit. Please hear me clearly, you deserve to feel exactly how you want to feel about your voice. So lay it all out there. Be bold. Be audacious. Say exactly how you would like to feel without apology. This part of the goal setting process can also be a little scary when doubt and insecurity start to question your sanity, but you have my permission to tell them to shut up for a little while. Be kind to yourself, but don't let yourself off the hook, either.
By starting with the feeling, we can get a better sense of the WHY behind the goal. I'll talk a bit more about that later. For now, let your mind wander through the daydream of how you would like to feel when you sing, and get to know that feeling in your mind better. The more you experience it in your mind, the better you'll be able to recognize it when you experience it in real life later.
I'd love to be able to cheer you on. If you'd like, send me a message with how you'd like to feel as a singer. And if you'd like a bit of help in achieving your BHAG, or a bit more help to break it down into manageable chunks, let's set up a time to talk about it. My goal is to help you get to your goals.
YOU'VE GOT THIS! Even taking one step toward your BHAG is worth celebrating. After you finish this first step, throw a little party. I'll talk more about why that's important later, too. I can't wait to see and hear what you're going to do this year!
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