How to Focus on Expression Rather Than Fear When Performing

You know that feeling.

You practiced. You gathered the courage to climb up on stage. But instead of just enjoying yourself playing what you can perform perfectly at home in front of the mirror, your mind starts running through every possible way you could fail and your ego could crumble. What if they judge me? What if I mess up and they find out I'm not actually a real musician?

I have good news for you.

All of this is just thoughts in your mind.

In reality, most people are about 80 percent focused on themselves and their own flaws and insufficiencies. Have you noticed that we're generally much more supportive of others, and only judge them when we're projecting our own fears of failure onto them?

Authentic, impactful performance can only happen when we accept ourselves in the situation exactly as it is.

Being a musician is fundamentally different from being a doctor. No one is going to die if we mess up.

That's not entirely true, though, because something is actually being threatened.

It's our ego, our identity, and the subtle tendency to seek approval and acknowledgement from our peers, our mates, and, fundamentally, our parents.

If you slow down for a moment, you might notice them: the thoughts, the whispers, telling you that you're not accepted for who you are and that you need to please people to fit in.

But what they won't tell you is that ultimately, you're the only one who can forgive yourself and radically accept yourself, no matter what happens.

Impactful performances start with self-love. Not with posturing, not with trying to impress. All of that is just the ego trying to protect its current structure.

But that's not who you are. You're much more fluid and flexible than you think.

So play like that.

Keep it funky!