Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Reflecting on my eighteenth month as a director of bands, I have experienced both challenges and profound rewards. Since I first stepped into my new role, I have been asked a few times, “When did you feel ready to become a head band director?” My answer has been “I’m still trying to feel ready”, and I have often been met with confusion.
The truth was, a position of that level had always been a personal benchmark for my career success but I never had a timeline for when I wanted to meet this. Given my position at the time, there wasn’t much motivation to either. I was working with incredible colleagues, taught amazing students every day, and had community support to achieve excellence.
I also had doubts about my abilities. Could I manage administrative aspects like a budget for a band program? Was I truly knowledgeable about the content that I taught? Or was I relying heavily on the resources that I had been afforded in my career so far? Would I be able to handle the ownership of being the figurehead of the band program? The list went on.
I found myself at a crossroads. I didn’t feel a hundred percent (or honestly, maybe even seventy percent) ready to take the next step in my career but found myself yearning for the challenge of pushing myself beyond something I had experienced before. That feeling ultimately led me to decide to take the next step and begin to apply for head director positions. In preparing for interviews, I had to rethink how I would approach each situation through a different lens. The decisions on behalf of hundreds of students would now fall onto my actions. After facing many of my doubts head-on and working through them by trial and error, I can confidently say that I am glad I took that leap of faith.
I often feel like every action we take is under the scrutiny of others in today’s digital world. We remove ourselves from situations that provide us opportunities to take risks safely out of the fear of being exposed that we “don’t have it all figured out”. We play it safe. We become blind to the thought that temporary failures serve as opportunities for us to learn and grow. I also believe, however, that it is only through pushing ourselves to experience and overcome the feeling of uncertainty and uncomfortable that we are rewarded.
So I encourage you to go for it! Try something new. Think outside the box. Learn from the mistakes you make along the way. Never give up. It may take you longer than others. It may take you shorter than others. That doesn’t matter. What does is that you are pushing yourself to new heights. Remember, the greatest things are just outside of your comfort zone… so what is something you haven’t tried yet because you aren’t “ready” for it?
Friends,
I apologize for not continuing to share my reflections regularly over the past year. Several personal and technological factors made it difficult to do so. I have thankfully migrated my site to be a part of the Substack platform now. This allows for more creative tools on my end and ease of access to the reader. I am still committed to keeping all content completely free. I thank you for your patience and look forward to sharing more experiences in music education together.
Yours in Service,
Matt