Well, I have to be honest – I had a really rocky start to my #learningproject. I started out with the Rockstar Academy lessons, which are slow and steady. However, Lesson 1 taught the parts of a guitar, the chords C and G, and some strumming exercises. I got through it, but even though my head knew what to do, my fingers hurt! Now I remember why I never learned how to play before, guitar is hard!
I was deflated. Why did I pick guitar? I could have picked something so much easier than this. A hundred things ran through my mind. And… I stalled. I didn’t have much motivation to practice and a mountain of lessons didn’t seem surmountable. But, I figured, ANY learning project is going to have some hurdles, setbacks and times when you are just unmotivated. So I figured I better jump back in and DO THIS!
I needed a little motivation, so I skipped ahead to lesson 3, which introduced E, D and A chords and suggested strumming these and adding in C and G, which I remembered but wanted to see the fingering. Rather than flipping back to lesson 1, I skipped over to Google and easily found a Guitar Chord image. It’s handy to have in front of me when I am trying to play a song and learn the chords.
Woohoo, now that I knew what my fingers were supposed to do, I wanted to try to play something. I abandoned the lessons for the day and googled easy guitar songs, settling on this site. I figured Brown-Eyed Girl by Van Morrison wasn’t too hard, too fast and I could sing along!
It was a pretty rocky rendition, since there are lots of chord changes, but hey, it’s a song! After feeling pretty bummed, I am actually believing that I will be able to learn the guitar well enough to enjoy it!
So, stay tuned for my next video, where I will actually reveal my progress.
In the meantime, do you have any tricks to overcome lack of motivation? How do you jump start yourself?
Amie Reid 
Hi amie! I’m struggling with the exact same situation. My learning project is a little different so I can just watch motivational athletes cheering me on. Yours seems a little tough! I think trying to play a song you enjoy would definitely help. I know when I was learning the guitar I skipped the basics (whoops!) and went straight to playing “time of your life” by green day and “hey there Delilah” by the plain white t’s. Keep at it and good luck! You’ll be amazing?
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Thanks Aysha! That confirms what I was thinking.. that it wouldn’t have mattered WHAT learning project I picked, it’s the process of learning that can be difficult! Good luck with your project as well. And if you need a motivational non-athlete to cheer you on, you know where to find me!
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You’ll be amazing!** is what I meant!
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Just keep swimming! Push through the sore fingers for sure. Like Aysha said, try finding a simple song that you like. I honestly learned Happy Birthday, cuz it was easy! I’d have to look back at my blog to see where I found the song I eventually ended up working on…but I know I found it on a site somewhere!
Your project has inspired me to try and pick up my guitar again though! I really haven’t had the time to try it since back then. So maybe by the time you’re finished your project we can “jam”?! Ha!
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Thanks Kendra! Happy Birthday is a good suggestion, since we sing it so often! Jamming is a great incentive – let’s make a date!
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Hey Aime,
Thanks for sharing about your progress so honestly. I have also been struggling with my Learning Project, so it’s nice to know that I am not alone. This past Monday I attended my boyfriend’s convocation, and I was exciting to try one of my new hairstyles out for the big occasion. At least that was the plan. I was in the bathroom struggling with my hair for 45 minutes before I finally gave up, quickly curled it and pinned it back. It made me feel really defeated.
As for your question, to be honest, I used my frustration as motivation to improve. The next day, when I was at home alone and didn’t feel the pressure of getting ready for a special event, I spent some time practicing some the new hairstyles that I have learned. I’m still not a professional by any means, but I am slowly improving. I guess practice really does make perfect.
Keep working at it. I can’t wait to read about/hear your progress. Good luck!
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Thanks Amy! I guess one of the things I have learned is that it’s important to be honest about our struggles. If we avoid taking that long, hard look at why we ARE struggling, we cheat ourselves out of potentially learning something even more valuable than what we thought we had set out to learn.
I’m glad to hear you got back on the horse after your hairstyle struggle on Monday. You are right, practice does make perfect. Plus, resilience builds adaptability. If you are ever in a panic again with your hair, you will probably decide sooner if “the ‘do” is doable, or if Plan B or even C are the better courses of action. Keep it up! I look forward to seeing some of those styles you’ve been working on!
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