Teach To Learn

Teaching guitar is a great way to look in the mirror. When I see students putting up roadblocks and making it harder for themselves to play guitar well at the very moment they are on the verge of a big breakthrough in their playing, I ask myself, “Where am I doing the same thing with my own guitar playing and music?”

And the answer is, “Everywhere and all the time.” Which is discouraging and deflating, to say the least. But if I own the truth of that answer and resist the temptation to get defensive in response, the particular roadblocks I’ve put up for myself in that moment disappear, and a new lightness enters my guitar playing. Then of course I create a new set of roadblocks a little farther down the road when I’m on the verge of the next breakthrough, and the cycle continues. It takes a lot of stamina to be open to change and growth on a continuous basis.

So when I see students fighting their growth, I get it. It’s easier for them in many ways to cling to old ideas and argue with me than it is to look in the mirror and acknowledge they’re holding themselves back. And that makes me realize I’m clinging to old ideas of my own again, so it’s time to return to my own mirror! The cycle continues, and the process is always the same. Teach to learn.