The doomsday habit gives you room to be human. It leaves space for the days when you just can’t, and keeps you moving forward anyway, even if it’s just an inch. And it builds confidence by showing you that, even on your worst days, you are still full of power and possibility.
Read moreWarming Up
Any singer will tell you that rolling out of bed and immediately making your most beautiful sounds is an unrealistic expectation. It can take hours of being awake and warming up before you’re in your “best voice.”
I’ve noticed a parallel with writing. It feels like a big ask to roll out of bed and dive into writing something of value. There’s a certain amount of warming up that’s required to activate those creative parts of the brain.
Read moreSpaces and Transitions
What I have found to be the alternative to transition practices is a feeling of residual, nagging unease, like I left something undone. My mind continues to spin with to-do items, sometimes hours after I’ve turned off my work computer, preventing me from complete presence and rejuvenation during my non-work hours. I think of it as bad time hygiene: allowing the next part of my day to be muddied by the previous.
Read moreThe Reverence Trap
I’m guilty of that trap we singers tend to fall into, which is believing that what we do is sacred and untouchable. I’ve been gifted with the ability to spin melodies out of nothingness using only the flesh and muscle I was born with, and this gift is fragile and must be treated with the utmost reverence.
This is bullshit. And it’s selfish. It displaces the onus of responsibility for the work, making “the voice” responsible for the magic, rather than the self.
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