I recognize that this is a time when many folks are just getting started on their New Year resolutions and all is going well. After all, it has only been a couple of days since folks decided that these are the things they were going to work on or do differently during the coming year. I understand that many, if not most folks, use the calendar year to mark a place in time to do such things. Similarly, many repeat resolutions year after year. Personally I have always found waiting for the New Year to start something or change something as a silly concept. My view has been if it is worth doing, then why not do it now. Understanding that folks probably do not consciously procrastinate about these things until the New Year rolls around, for many that is what happens in practice; something is identified and then put off until Christmas. Since I have to make a list for the New Year, I might as well put this thing I have been meaning to get around to on the list.
After all procrastination is not always a bad thing. Sometimes procrastination actually pays off. There are some things that if put off long enough become irrelevant. If the outcome is determined as irrelevant to begin with, these are the kinds of things that should be ignored. No time or energy should be given to such “requirements”. There are other times when the requirements of today change in coming days. In either case, procrastination can pay off by not expending time and effort on something that is unnecessary in the coming days and weeks. Most of us have probably come across these kinds of things. If we procrastinated, then we are usually happy we did not spend time on such things; if we actually did whatever it was that seemed like a requirement at the time then we somehow feel hard done by because we did something that was not required. The latter case gives us something to complain about for a while.
However, I think that if we look hard enough we can find something good in doing the thing that turns out to be irrelevant for the time being. It could be we learned something new and at a minimum we gained an experience that could assist in future decisions – like when to ignore new “requirements”. Research has shown that every decision we make is based on the sum total of every experience we have ever had. So perhaps these requirements that disappear are a vehicle for expanding our experiences that improve future decisions. If we could predict which requirements would disappear this would be a great tool for deciding what to do now and what to put off until it went away. Perhaps these experiences from the past are what we use to determine when to take action and when to wait. Then again, this could just be wishful thinking on my part in an attempt to make good use of what appears to be time and effort wasted. It is hard to say at times. There is one thing for sure about putting things off rather than getting started right away; if you wait until the last minute, it will only take a minute. It may not be done well, but it will only take a minute.
While there is some potential benefit to procrastination at times, the point is to do the things we see when we see them as requirements. Sometimes this is as simple as picking up the garbage we see as we take our evening walk or washing something that is dirty for no other reason than it needs to be cleaned. Sure, we could wait for someone else to do it. We could say, and it might well be true, that it is somebody else’s job or we could say that anybody could do that. We could also say, that is too big of a job so I will just put it off and hope somebody else will do it or it will go away. However, if everybody says the same thing, nothing ever gets done; nobody ever learns anything and in most cases the requirement continues to grow. Everyone can sit around and complain about what nobody is doing. This reminds me of a short piece on taking the initiative that I came across many years ago:
“There was once four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done!”
So what does this all have to do with music? Well, in some ways nothing and in the same ways everything. This is about why we all make resolutions, regardless if we wait for the New Year or not. This is about becoming better people and in the process we become better at everything else we do to include music. After all is it not Everybody’s job to play a solid rhythm for the singer or while Somebody is taking a lead break? Is it not also true that Anybody with a basic understanding and ability to play two or three chords can play a good rhythm for the singer or during a lead break? Somebody is likely to get upset if Nobody plays the aforementioned rhythm. Similarly, Anybody can take the time to work out little bits and pieces of a lead break or learn lyrics so that they can take a turn at the jam. If Nobody sings or takes a lead break at the jam then it is likely that Everybody will look for a different jam to attend in the future or Somebody will take the time to learn something for the next jam. Perhaps even Everybody will resolve themselves to learn one thing for the next jam and I hope they don’t wait until the New Year to make that resolution. So yes, taking the initiative by doing things that need to be done helps support the music just like it does all other aspects of life.
I heard someone say that the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago; the next best time is right now. I think this is true for most things. The best time to practice more was twenty years ago and the next best time is now. The best time to start saving money was twenty years ago and the next best time is now. I could list any number of things but I think it is clear that most of the time putting things off does not make them easier and frequently makes them more difficult as time continues. I wish everyone the greatest success in sticking to their personal New Year resolutions. I fall into the category of the many folks who have the same resolutions year after year. My resolution is the same as it has been for many years; if I missed the best time to do something, then I better get started on the next best time which is right now.
