Have you ever reached a point in your life where you were bogged down with stuff and couldn’t find the time to tackle those big dreams? If so, then you may have landed in what Dr. Seuss calls The Waiting Place; a room where you just sit and wait for something to happen… but nothing usually does. It feels like you’re stuck; glued to an eternal chair of mediocrity, but it doesn’t have to be this way. To get unstuck, you need to face the 5000 pound gorilla in the room, plan an escape route to the rear and barge headlong into the night leaving no stone unturned.
Putting your dreams on the shelves only to collect dust can be stupefying. Helplessly sitting in limbo watching our lives pass us by is not the way to go. Getting unstuck is about wiping the peanut butter off the seat of your pants and facing the 5000 pound gorilla staring you down. This means asking the big questions: Is this really my dream? Can I make it happen? Do I want it more than anything else? Honest self reflection helps you to fish or cut the bait as the Donald would say. If you can truly let go of your dreams, then do it and move on. If you can’t, then you need to plan an escape route to the rear.
Set aside some time to think. That gorilla in your living room isn’t moving, so you need to out think him. Come up with a plan that will get you out of your comfort zone and busy carving out your own little piece of destiny. Start by organizing your priorities, setting achievable goals and getting rid of needless time wasters. Balance your work and home life and try to free up a couple hours a week to chisel away at your marble slab. The instant the gorilla drifts off to sleep, tiptop to the rear and barge headlong into the night leaving no stone unturned.
This step requires massive resolve. So many obstacles will begin to appear on your path, but don’t look back. A sudden lapse in effort could send your story back to the bottom of the book pile. It will be scary. Stark figures will loom in the night, but you will not be left in the dark. Success leaves clues so check under every rock you can find. So what does all this have to do with drumming? Well for one, drummers look like gorillas and for two, can you imagine the depth of musical accomplishments that would begin to emerge if more of us became unstuck?
