End of Year Goals…Now?

We have a few months left until the New Year, great and maybe even scary. It’s very easy to dismiss these upcoming months as a loss if you haven’t prepared the way you wanted or if you’re still in search of finding your place but I’m here to say: let it go, stay focused, and keep it simple.

Here are some things that I am thinking about as a musician/performing artist:

Teaching goals- As an arts educator my role is to guide, teach, and reveal musical knowledge to my students. But there’s so much for me to learn too.  My goal is to provide an opening for ownership. I want to find ways to provide a foundation for my students but also have them figure it out for themselves. The question that comes to me is: how do I teach them foundational principles and have them apply them to their current life alongside the artistic skill sets?

Performance goals- have you ever had a piece you wanted to perform, compose, or a skill you want to add to your artistic arsenal?  You can pursue it now. Wait, why wait? There is no “opportune” time. Start asking people who have played the music or ask if they want to work on a potential project. By asking and pursuing you will have a greater sense of what is possible in the next few months.

Networking goals- Has it been a while since you reached out to your old friends and colleagues? Are you looking to expand your reach?  Now is a great time to revamp your online presence and start emailing and messaging people to see how they are doing and catch up. Relationships are important and finding community should always be a goal. 

Now it’s your turn. What are you going to focus on using practical methods? Now is a great time to consider how to end the year on your terms.

-Medina