PPP 289: Mindset is More Important Than Strategy

Preston Pugmire says in his wonderful TED Talk, “If information was all that is necessary, we’d all be millionaires with six-pack abs.”

He goes on to explain that mindset comes in three phases:

It’s possible… for someone else

Does your piano kid feel like everyone else can play piano except them? If they don’t believe they can do it, the strategy doesn’t matter. Piano teachers can “make piano fun” and break challenging music down into manageable steps but the student must believe and DO.

It’s possible for me… but how?

Some people think the success of others is based on external factors or things out of their control. They were born with it. They’ve got more time and talent than me. 

Once your piano kid believes they are capable of getting the same results, they can start looking for reasons to succeed. We can program our mind to focus on success rather than roadblocks.

It’s inevitable for me now, let’s find the steps

When you believe that success is inevitable, no roadblock will get in your way.

A student working on a challenging piece of music, who puts strategy before mindset will allow every mistake to confirm their belief that they cannot play the music.

A student who starts with a mindset will use mistakes and roadblocks to help them find a new strategy. This is what we want for our children – in music and in life.