Last time I exhorted you to accept that to become a better harper you will have to work hard. I know that’s the last thing any of us wants to hear, especially because we already know it’s true.

But how do we get past the whining and complaining and get to the heart of the hard work of becoming better harpers? What is the secret? How do we make harp work a little less daunting?

Well, there are a number of experts who have broken this down into some components that will be helpful to move forward. And they all agree with each other on this point –

You must LOVE what you’re doing.

That doesn’t mean view it with fondness or be thrilled by the fact that it’s terribly exciting – you must LOVE it!

And you must be shockingly honest with yourself – Do you love playing the harp or do you just love telling people you play the harp? (there is nothing wrong with loving to tell other people that you play the harp, by the way – however, it will not sustain you to do all the hard work to play the harp better. It will only motivate you to tell better stories about playing the harp) . So examine your response to the question – do you LOVE playing the harp?

If you don’t love playing the harp, that’s not a problem – but realize that without this sustaining love your motivation will fizzle, making it harder and harder for you to put in the time, to do the work, to exhibit the passion that others will. It will, however, free you to play the harp at the level you are able and to put your passion where it belongs.

Me, I’ll be here on my bench…