Favoring Adventures over Guitar Goals

When someone has an adventure, there's an aspect of mystery and magic to it. We love stories. We love crazy adventures. If we didn't we'd hate reading fiction, and we'd never would have enjoyed watching The Lord of the Rings.

In recalling an adventure, a person could describe his or her experience as momentous, nothing that could have been expected, and totally memorable. The vagueness, the unexpected joys and sorrows that adventures present are so meaningful to those who have undertaken them. 

Ask yourself a question: Would an adventure be as meaningful if you always knew what was coming? If you controlled the outcome? Probably not. If we knew what was was going to happen in a TV series before we watched it, we'd spoil the fun. Ditto for adventures like traveling to a different country and not knowing anyone or the language they speak. Ditto for guitar, too.

Sometimes, guitar goals are far too specific

Sometimes, students can be far too specific about what they want to learn. They may insist upon learning one artist's music exclusively while ignoring the merits of so many others. If you are going to try guitar lessons, why not not experiment, trust your guide and guitar teacher, and just enjoy the process? Your teacher probably has a ton of cool stuff to show you, stuff that he or she is magnificent at teaching. Why not just learn from them, openly?

Adventure gives you the sense that what you experience is completely unexpected and improvised. If being more specific about what you'd like to accomplish on guitar makes you feel more comfortable, then do it and ignore this advice. However, I hope you consider letting go just a bit. You might find it exhilarating! Certainly, being open to adventure can be terrifying, but then again, those who die with the best stories win.