Determined to Learn

I have been teaching piano lessons for seven years and currently have 16 students. I’m still amazed as I watch the learning process unfold right before my eyes. There are so many different ages, personalities, learning styles, and giftings that keep me continually learning how to teach each student to maximize their musical skills. One recurring conversation I find myself having with the students is how to be a good learner.

Just yesterday, I had two students with two very different responses to a challenge. One student had worked diligently practicing a song at home all week and had the notes down perfectly. Unfortunately, she had the incorrect rhythm. Re-learning is hard because you are now having to address the muscle memory that’s been established and intentionally adjust it. We took probably five minutes (which can feel like a lifetime to an 8 year old) to work on correcting the song. I could tell the process was stretching her and watched her do it over and over again until she got it right. I was super proud of her perseverance to hang in there and her capacity to engage in the learning process without letting the frustration get the best of her.

The other student came in and admittedly wasn’t having the best of days. We came to a new skill that she tried two or three times and then threw her hands up in the air and said, “It’s too hard! I can’t do it!” This is not an unusual response to learning, and I gently prodded her to try again. She moved on and then kept making an error in the same place. As I corrected her, she strongly told me, “NO! That’s not right!” I let the silence hold a moment, letting her words sink in as she looked at me. Then, I gently said, “Really? I’m not right?” She sighed dramatically, caught in her the trap of her own frustrated words realizing how ridiculous that sounded in telling the teacher. We went on; she was able to make the correction and discover how she really could do this new skill. It was just going to take some time and practice.

What’s your response when facing challenges? Are you willing to learn? Determined to learn?

Living your best life is being engaged in the learning process. Certainly, we love those times and environments when things ‘click’ and come easy for us. However, there are equally the number of situations we find ourselves in that challenge us and our skill set. What we do in those moments are more defining our our lives than anything. Go easy on yourself. Ask someone to help you or guide you. And stay with it.

If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, non one can stop you. - Zig Ziglar