I want to talk about the feeling of being inadequate for playing the piano. First of all, why do you think you can't play piano? Do you think that? Do you think that is that something that comes across for you?

Is it something that has kind of plagued your thoughts and your self doubt about can you do this instrument? And, um, yeah, to be honest, I want you to try my measure by measure program. But if not, hopefully you can take something away from this.

It's going to just spark a little bit of joy in your piano practice. And you can approach it however you feel comfortable with whatever teacher you feel comfortable with. I know a lot of beginning piano players who worry they can't do it.

But I also want to express that professional piano players have those same thoughts and doubts about themselves. In fact, maybe more so. I observed this reflex that people have when they're talking about their desire to learn the piano.

Like I wish I could play the piano and then they add a statement of self doubt right after that. I wish I could play the piano, but I'm not talented. Well, I used to try to play the piano, but I wasn't very good at it.

Right. I wish I played piano, except I don't have time for it. So there's all these like, maybe internal or external conflicts that people have with this desire. And I feel like a lot of people wish they could do it.

In fact, I think if you asked a group of people, what's a skill that you wish you could have without having to put the effort into gaining it. And I'm sure playing the piano, the ability to play the piano would show up somewhere in that.

I'm sure that there are other answers that would come up with, but it's a very frequent thing for people to wish that they could do the problem with following that statement of desire with this reflexive self doubt is that it draws a line in the sand for yourself.

And it takes a lot of effort to get over that line in the sand. Right. You won't allow yourself to step over it if you believe that you can't do it. I can't be the one who actually follows. through and plays the piano, what would that mean about me?

So like there's a lot of things that come up. Like if I'm gonna play the piano, what does that mean about me? And it's interesting to see this relationship between our self view and the role that has in whether or not we're willing to take steps.

Like we're willing to go the extra mile, we're willing to make a little bit of an adjustment to how we spend our time or how we put our effort into it. I need to believe that I'm a pianist before I can step over that line.

So identity is part of it. And I don't think that it's adequacy necessarily because so many really good pianists feel inadequate. Like I can't do this. But the difference is I think those pianists identify as a piano player.

Like it's a big deal to them. It's a big part of their life. And I'm not trying to say that to be a pianist you have to only be a pianist. I really do think that we have this expansive identity and you can be so many other things at the same time.

I really struggled growing up with this idea that I hadn't. multiple interests. Like I was into making videos. I wanted to play different kinds of music. I played to piano lessons. I wanted to be smart.

You know, I wanted to be good in school. I wasn't, but I really struggled with this idea that you had to like balance and like niche down and you had to focus in on something and make that your identity.

The other part of it was I wanted my one thing to be something I was ultra successful at. And I don't think that very many people can get away with just claiming one thing and becoming extremely successful at it.

So when we claim I'm a pianist as part of our identity, it's important that we realize that doesn't have to be your whole thing. It could just be a thing. I give you permission to call yourself a pianist, even if you feel like you're inadequate to do it because that just makes you a regular piano player.

The difference for people who feel successful at this, that really do a good job with it, is that piano players take action even when they feel like they're inadequate for it, right? They've just learned to trust that something magical is going to work out for them.

I do think it's important that to be a pianist, much of the time, you believe you can't, but frequently take action even when you think that. And I think that that's the statement for every pianist alive.

I don't know that you could talk to one and say, yeah, I just totally knew I could do it. And so I did. If you have that feeling of like, yeah, I could do that, good for you. That's so great. I want some of your confidence, but you don't have to be a confident person to learn how to play the piano.

So my first invitation to you here is to challenge that self -perception of whether or not you are a pianist and whether or not you're capable of doing it. In measure by measure, I try to go really slow with these video lessons and the guided practice that I do.

And it is for sure for people who feel completely inadequate at doing it. I've felt and struggled with that my whole life. The other thing I want to talk about is talent. You