The first time I wrote band charts for our school’s Dessert Cabaret, I was sure I wasn’t going to make it. It was too hard.
The time between auditions and performance was only three weeks, there were some 30 different songs being performed. It was taking me 30-60 minutes per song. I didn’t have that kind of time.
But I did get it done, the day of the rehearsal, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, seven years later, it’s a familiar tough. I know I’ll have to work hard, but I also know I’ll be able to finish.
I am three days from the rehearsal and have only 8 charts left of the 38 I started with.
I think there are two reasons it feels easier.
- I’ve gotten better. I have developed an assembly-line process that is smooth and efficient.
- More importantly, I’m not worried that I can’t do it.
The first year, I had never done it before. It was an open question as to whether I could.
Every year since (and more with each passing year) I have had past successes to look back on. I’m not apprehensive of finishing, because I’ve finished every other time.
The first time you do something, you don’t know you can do it. Because you never have.
Trust that it gets easier, and that your lack of history is part of the reason it feels tough. That will go away.