The Rubber Band Mental Training Trick

It takes a special mindset to pursue a career in music and actually be successful. Of the millions of people throughout the USA (and the world) who dream of being a professional musician, less than 1% actually make a living at it. Is it because the music industry is a tough industry to get into or is it that you can’t make money as a musician?

Neither could be further from the truth.

The music industry is actually one of the most stable industries to be in. Just ask all the people who have been laid off from thier “secure” jobs and you will know why. Income and sources of income are something we will get into in another article but for now we are going to stay on the idea of mindset.

The #1 reason that the majority of musicians who go into the music business do not make it is because they have the wrong mindset. Most have such negative attitudes or personalities issues that nobody wants to work with them. Others think everything happens by luck alone or by being in the right place at the right time. What you actually need is to be the right person, in the right place, at the right time. If you do not have the pieces of your puzzle together when opportunities present themselves, it doesn’t matter if you are in the right place at the right time.

A lot of us also have self-destructive or self-defeating personalities. This is not because we are bad people. It is because the society we live in destroys our confidence. A study on self-esteem showed that 97% of children ages 3 and under have high self-esteem. By the time these individuals finish high school, less than 5% have good self esteem.

I know I have personally dealt with my negative thoughts and doubts. Countless times I have thought that I was not good enough or talented enough to be a competitor in the music industry. I would get down on myself, my music, my playing and performances. I no longer have these thoughts because I have trained myself and my mind to have a positive outlook on everything I do.

Most of us fail because we are constantly telling ourself that we are not good enough. This needs to stop immediately!

The Rubber Band

The best way to train your mind to think positively at all times is through a technique I learned in my music career training program. This is a widely known practice taught by many mentors. You can read this article by Psychology today written in 2010 written by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D which goes into more detail.

Find yourself a rubber band large enough to fit around your wrist. Make sure it is not cutting off your circulation. You will need to wear it all day.

Whenever you feel or have a negative thought about yourself or your goals, you are to pull on the rubber band and release it so that it snaps you in the wrist. Your body does not like pain. A little bit of pain will go a long way in eliminating these negatives thoughts from your mind. At first, you may find you have to do this several times a day. In the beginning, I remember my wrist being so red that I had to switch wrists. I did not know how many times during the day I had self-defeating ideas. Eventually, I knew better than to think negatively about what I was doing.

Do not let your negative thoughts control your life and destroys your dreams. Believe in yourself and you will succeed.