2 min and 44 sec to read, 685 words

We live in a ‘hustle’ culture. It can feel competitive. You’re supposed to be practicing, learning, writing, posting, performing. It can start to feel like a thankless job. Especially when you’re learning to sing or play while trying to do all of this. And take care of your bills and home ect.

It adds stress. That feeling that you have to hurry and learn to get ahead. Stress adds tension. It won’t help, it will hurt. And when you’re so busy with your regular job or the daily stresses of life, sometimes our music can suffer. And then we add that to the things that are stressing us out. 

Let’s talk about why taking an ocasional break might be the best thing for your music.

Be Okay with where you are

But what if you tell yourself that its okay. Everything is as it should be. You’ll get back to your music as soon as you can. And you might even feel more refreshed and excited having been away from it for a week or two. 

Pushing ourselves and willing something to happen can be very stressful and cause us physical and mental fatigue. Try to be accepting of where you are in your life and be thankful for what you have and what you’ve learned and just keep getting a little better every day. It’s an easier approach to life. Maybe not an easy one for type-A personalities, but perhaps something to try and work towards?

How Taking a Break Can Help

Taking a break might be the best thing you can do in the moment. Try not to feel stressed when you are dealing with other obligations or even if you chose to take a break. Let it go and accept that this time away is to deal with other things or to simply rest. And that when you get back to your music you will feel more refreshed and ready to learn and move forward. 

We can only push ourselves for so long. It’s probably better to take our physical and mental health into perspective when trying to keep so many things in our lives going smoothly. More than likely we put our priority on our music. Singing, playing, writing, or all three. It can take a toll. And ultimately you’ll probably learn more and get more accomplished with taking breaks. 

Take Time for Family and Friends 

I remember years of my life spent in somewhat isolation. I would go to work and home for Holidays and things like that. But my everyday life was just going to work and then practicing and going to music class. Most of my time alone was spent learning songs and techniques for class and not much else. I probably missed out on some family time and potential friendships but my focus was elsewhere. I didn’t really have a good balance in my life. 

The moral of the story here is try not to neglect having friendships or spending time with family while in pursuit of your musical goals. Try to find a balance and know it’s okay if you take time to go out with friends or to watch TV and do nothing. You don’t have to be working towards your goals at all times. Try to find a nice balance in your life between the two. It’s okay. Music will still be there waiting for you when you get back.

In Conclusion

Keep working towards your musical goals and know where you want to go. But don’t push yourself to hard. Knowing it’s okay to take a break now and then is okay and hopefully you’ll return refreshed and excited to start working again.

All the Best,

Amy

If you’d like to book an online voice or guitar lesson with me:

https://www.amyhailstone.com/services