Amidst the hustle and bustle, it’s quite common to find yourself feeling disheartened or dissatisfied with the trajectory of your current career. This is especially true when you’re comparing it to something as personal as music. Pouring your heart and soul into your work can sometimes feel like it’s not yielding the desired outcomes. The more time you’ve spent in your industry, the more likely you are to encounter a creative roadblock. The daily grind becomes mundane, and doubts about your career start to creep in.
While there’s no universal remedy for this situation, here are a few ideas to consider in order to rekindle the passion you once had. Take a look at these five possibilities and see which one resonates with your current situation. Remember, tough times pass. They always do.
Evaluate Your True Desires:
Sometimes, we lose our sense of accomplishment and enthusiasm at work when we’re not entirely clear about what we want to achieve. Another common scenario is that our goals are evolving, but we haven’t yet recognized this shift or taken the necessary steps to align with these new aspirations.
Take a moment to reflect on what you genuinely want from your career. Don’t be afraid to be specific and aim high. Instead of a vague goal like “I want to pursue music full-time,” dig deeper and define precisely what that means for you. Then, step back and establish a few smaller, achievable goals that you can work towards in the coming months. By realigning yourself with your aspirations, you’ll likely see more meaningful progress in your profession.
Chart Your Path:
While envisioning the future of your career, it’s easy to identify “full-time music” as your ultimate objective and leave it at that. While that’s a great goal, reaching it will require time and the completion of numerous smaller tasks. This is where your one-month, three-month, and six-month goals come into play. They serve as stepping stones towards your larger purpose.
For instance, as a starting point, your one-month goal might be to connect with five local bands. Building on that, your three-month goal could be to secure a local gig with a relatively well-known band in your area. This approach allows you to gain traction, expand your fanbase, and accumulate valuable live-show experience.
Your six-month goal could involve booking a weekend or week-long tour within your region. By this point, you’ve likely established a local following, acquired substantial live performance experience, and arranged a small tour within a few hours of your hometown. All of these achievements bring you closer to your ultimate goal of pursuing music full-time by enhancing your connections and fanbase. Moreover, they are tangible achievements that you can celebrate as you track your progress.
Shake Up Your Routine
Sometimes, we fall into the trap of a monotonous routine that not only feels a tad dull but also zaps our creativity and motivation. Have you ever wondered why your best ideas seem to pop up in the shower, right before bedtime, or during vacations? It’s because those moments offer relaxation and freedom from the never-ending to-do list, allowing your mind to wander and stumble upon fresh inspiration and ideas.
Even small changes like working from a bustling coffee shop instead of your usual home office, reorganizing your workspace, or doing something entirely out of the ordinary on weekends can be sufficient to break the funk and rekindle your creative spark.
Admittedly, it can be a bit challenging initially, but experimenting with changes in your routine from time to time can be quite invigorating. We adapt swiftly to new environments and situations, and that’s where the fun lies—it keeps your creativity flowing.
Inject Freshness into Your Music
Just as trying new things in life keeps you active and motivated, the same principle applies to your music. It could entail making actual changes to your music if it feels stale or disconnected, but it can also involve altering the elements surrounding your music. Picture your music career as a sandbox—you’re not obliged to build the same thing repeatedly. It’s perfectly acceptable to play around and have fun with it. Don’t be afraid to experiment and take risks.
Embrace Change
Change is a constant in both the music industry and our lives, so adaptability is the name of the game. The ability to pivot and recognize when something isn’t working is crucial.
Your goals may have evolved over the past few years, and that’s entirely normal. Sometimes, as personal life goals shift, your musical aspirations must adapt in tandem. For instance, if your dream was to tour full-time a decade ago, but now you have a family and don’t wish to be away from them, it means you need to adjust your music career goals accordingly. It doesn’t mean you can’t pursue music full-time; it just means you need to find a way to make it work within your new schedule.
Parting Thoughts
Change can be intimidating, but don’t spiral into self-doubt just because circumstances are different now. Consider this an opportunity to reevaluate your desires and approach them with a fresh perspective and innovative ideas. It might just be the catalyst you’ve been searching for!