Chap. V Discipline, Sect. 1

“Remember always to exercise your first severity on poor people’s children, and day-scholars. The first floggings are a perpetual disgrace, and it is but reasonable that they should bear it, by whom you are least profited.”

– Anonymous, The Academy Keeper, published 1770

Focus on Really Small Things

Today was one of those days.  Less than great sleep last night, oppressive heat in the home office (though nothing compared to the rest of the country I guess), general lack of energy.  It’s easy to get really down on these days–especially for those of us who work alone.

I watched Harp Dreams tonight on Netflix, and it was worth watching for one quote, which I’ll paraphrase.  One of the finalists in the harp competition, Cheryl Losey, said about day-to-day practicing at this level:

“Some days are worse than other days. On those days, when everything just seems overwhelming, you just have to block that out and focus on really small things.  You can’t think about the big picture on those days, and you can’t make any huge judgments.”