Do you plan to win all the time?
I have long loved this quote from The West Wing, as spoken by speechwriter Sam Seaborn:
“There are 162 games in major league baseball season and the players have a saying “Every team’s going to win 54 games, every team’s going to lose 54, it’s what you do with the other 54 games that counts.”
It bears reflection. We can’t win ’em all, and if we say that’s our goal, we are either delusional or choosing the wrong opponents or challenges. That’s as true in music as it is in baseball. If you’re not failing at your ensemble’s goals some of the time, then you’re probably not aiming high enough. And if you’re not going into the new season expecting to have some of your music-making fall short, then you’re going to be very surprised.
This can feel paralyzing – no one wants to fail. But don’t let it slow you down, any more than the inevitability of loss slows down Major League Baseball players.
What are you doing to do with the other 54 games?