What are deadline-based guitar goals?

Deadline-based guitar goals have a common thread of time limits, pressure, and a sense of urgency. They imply that if you don't finish your goal by your deadline, you have failed and wasted your precious time.

Deadline based goals make learning quite a bit more difficult, and it's worth the time to rid one's mind of them altogether. Luckily, they are a snap to catch once you see them. Here's some examples:

• "I have to learn guitar before age [insert age here]."
• "I have three months to learn how to play my first song."
• "My sister/son/niece/brother is getting married in six months, and I want to learn this song so I can play it at the reception."
• "I will master the blues scale in one year."

Rewriting deadline-based guitar goals

To rewrite a deadline-based goal, try extending the amount of time in the goal and then softening the language a little bit. Try to be a bit more kind and less rigid about when the goal has to be completed:

• "I want to enjoy learning guitar as I get older."
• "I'd be overjoyed if I learn how to play my first song."
• "I love my sister/son/niece/brother very much, but if I don't feel comfy playing a song by the reception, that's okay. It might happen."
• "It would feel great if felt progressively stronger with the blues scale, in time."

What if deadlines motivate you?

I'm fairly certain that there are people out there who love deadlines. Perhaps you love how the pressure of deadlines motivates you to get stuff done. If you're one of these people, go for it. I won't get in the way! If it helps you get stuff done, do it. 

I beg of you, however, to keep a couple of thoughts in mind before you set a deadline-based goal:

1. Guitar is a hobby for most people. Do you need deadlines for your hobbies to be enjoyable?
2. What if you don't meet your deadline? Will that make you feel worse than if you didn't start learning guitar at all?
3. What would happen if you got into the process of learning guitar instead of pushing to get something done with it?
4. Will you be happy and 100% satisfied with guitar once you've completed your goal and met your deadline?