[I'm wrapped up in a huge project right now, so I'm writing this from the Kat Cave. If you have photos of your cat in a cave, I'd love to post them to my blog with your permission =) Please send them to kat at soundhealthmusic dot com. Thanks!]
Tommy The Cat, San Diego, California
I’m reading a riveting book by Michael Masterson called Ready, Fire, Aim. The title grabbed my attention at first because that’s exactly the way I operate: Fire before aiming.
It sounds impulsive. And it is. As you can imagine, I make a LOT of mistakes.
Obviously, sometimes I fire and don’t hit the target. But the great thing is that after firing, I can always change my aiming position. I’m comforted by the fact that nothing is a forever decision, AND I have a never-ending abundance of bullets.
(By the way, when I think of “firing,” I imagine firing a big nerf ball gun that is pointed towards somebody sitting in a dunk machine, not a real gun with real bullets.)
Back to my point: My intuition is loud. When it speaks, I listen and act.
This comes in handy during music therapy sessions. When something unexpected happens, I listen and act. If my action is not suitable for the client or a mistake, then again I am able to listen and act differently a second time, third time, fourth time, etc. That’s how I adapt to change. Once I find something that helps the client evolve, then I can look back and realize that the “mistakes” along the way were stepping stones to client success.
I’ve found clarity and efficiency in taking actions that are as directly related to the desired outcomes as possible.
For instance, 7 years ago when I started Sound Health Music, I knew I wanted to begin by serving older adults. I called, emailed, and made dozens of appointments before I ever created a brochure.
After my first successful phone call, immediately I needed a brochure to mail out. I kept thinking “What a terrible mistake I made by not having brochures ready before making the calls.”
I sweated it out, created a brochure as fast as I could, and mailed it out within reasonable time following the phone call. It was stressful not to have had the brochure ready beforehand.
But looking back, I knew once the communication ball started rolling, I would be moved to create a brochure. I also knew that if I waited to make the phone calls until after I made the brochure, I might not have *ever* gotten anything done. Creating a brochure wasn’t on my priority list, so how would I have ever gotten around to doing it?
On the other hand, attracting clients was (and is) on my priority list. So I went for that action first.
Creating a brochure does not put groceries in my refrigerator. Setting up contracts with clients does. That’s how my priorities meet my actions.
Now that mistake has given me a very useful brochure that I’ve been able to modify over time.
I love to make mistakes because the faster I make a mistake, the faster I’m able to find a solution.
In his book, Michael Masterson mentions that the operative word here is ACTION.
I find joy in taking action. This has worked very well for me.
But I know that this way is not the only way. What works for you? Are you Action Jackson? Do you ever take action before thinking? Or do you savor in contemplation?
Kat,
Thanks so much for this article! As a new music therapist in a very unique setting, I really needed to hear all of this. I have been thinking about these things myself and I feel very validated by this article. I so appreciate your creative brain and willingness to share!
-Catherine
Hi Catherine! It’s so nice to continue to get to know you~ Thanks for reading and writing back. I’m so glad that you feel validated by this article! Perfect timing! =) Be well~
For me, the biggest challenging is firing too many great things at once. But, I now if I throw enough out, something will stick. It is messy. But it is me and my haptic self. I’ve had to learn if I’ve fired before aiming on X items, it is best to be sure I’ve aimed on a couple before firing again.
I *totally* hear you with that one, JoAnn! Maybe I should write about prioritizing in my next post! Taking action is one thing, but deciding what action to take when the possibilities are endless… is another thing completely!!! Let’s keep firing things out together. Stuff sticks eventually, for sure =)
Great story! Yep….I feel ya on this topic. Just recently, I was asked if The Musical Autist would be willing to put together a performance for the awards luncheon for the Maryland Arc Conference. Just a few weeks before the event.
In exchange, we were given an ad in the conf program and an exhibit hall table!
So I ordered a nice display board online but it took for.ever. to ship! The night before conference, I was up soo late putting it together. I had stressful flashbacks of 8th grade science fair projects….
Sharing my dear “brainchild” on a display board proved to be quite the challenge.
But now, I’m happy to say, The Musical Autist, NPO, has a gorgeous display board ready to go for next time.
Love it! I hope I get to see your display board some day, CJ =) Thanks for the added thoughts and insights here. It’s great to support each other along the way.
This is one of the issues we talk about in almost every team building program we deliver in Conexión Rítmica. I usually ask? How many of you learnt to walk without never falling down? That´s for me the strongest prove that shows us how how things are. Mistakes are just part of our path to grow. I would add, there is only one mistake: not learning from a mistake.
Aloha!!!
Love it, Marcos!
Kat,
I really liked this post! I have trouble deciding what action to take! Thanks again!
I hear you =) That should be another blog post!
We just had the discussion of using mistakes as a way of learning more about a client during the Ethics in Practice in music therapy training last weekend. Nice post, Kat. I’m sending you a picture of my cat in his cave (=underneath the sheets) to your email. Have a nice weekend!
Wow – Great timing! Thanks for sharing, Christine, AND thank you for your cat picture!!! I’m so happy you sent him my way – soooooo cute. I’ll post him in a couple weeks =)