Or at least a little better… As many of you know, I sat, um, toward the back of the cello section in the Life Sciences Orchestra last year. In general I am really competitive (particularly with myself as I’ve matured, though privately often also with others). However, the huge number of things I enjoy has meant that as my life becomes increasingly full I’ve had to settle for being pretty average at some of them (cooking, cycling, salsa dancing, to name a few). Mostly this is fine with me. As long as I’m doing well enough to enjoy what I’m doing, I’m happy, and in particular if I can continue to improve and compete with myself, I have learned to care little for how I do compared to others. Orchestra has become a bit of a sore spot, however, as I haven’t been motivated to make practicing a priority for the past few years, and my technique has suffered greatly. It has made orchestra less fun, which I didn’t realize until I started practicing last year and realized that it is notably more enjoyable to already know the rough spots in the music before rehearsal! All this to say that I’m resolving to practice a bit more this summer. Whether I sit further forward in the section is somewhat of a moot point (though I wouldn’t be sad to be able to see the conductor regularly), I just want to be better than I was last year.
Life lesson here: Sometimes it’s hard to tell what it takes to be “good enough.”
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You know, I noticed that several years ago and quit sewing for myself because I didn't do it regularly enough to be as good as I had been and wanted to be. I'm satisfied now to make flat items that take probably less skill, but still more skill than not doing them. As I've been doing more over the last six months (getting rid of the Dissertation really helped!), I've seen some of my skills creep back. For me, practice made better and that was "good enough".
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