I spent some of the most memorable and pleasurable times of my life in the “woodshed” – aka the practice room. The room itself hasn’t mattered that much, except for my old Second Avenue apartment where I kept my neighbor, Myra, up all night. Throughout my life, there have been many times I’ve practiced my instrument only to have night become day or vice-versa. Time stands still when you love what you do. For me, the experience is transcendent and cathartic.
There’s a lot of similarity between meditation and playing a musical instrument. Breathing. Focus. Sound. Ritual. Being present. If you meditate, you know what I’m talking about. If you play an instrument, you understand. In order to become proficient at your craft, honesty is essential. It is a key ingredient to your development and growth. You can’t bullshit yourself or anyone else if you want to improve. There are no excuses. It’s crucial to recognize and acknowledge what you don’t know so you know what you need to work on. I have discovered more about myself in the woodshed than any place else.
The average lifespan of an American male is 77 years, which equates to almost 675,000 hours. That seems like a lot, but we all know how finite it is. Robert Gladwell says you only need to commit 10,000 hours to become an expert at a task. A tiny fraction (around 1.5%) of our lives. It makes me think about how much opportunity I have to become proficient in things. That thought can seem overwhelming or indulgent – but, in fact, it is just the opposite.
It has been almost a year since I presented my theory of the ”freedom to jam” at TedX. It’s about making a commitment to create structured time for unstructured thinking. The quarantine made this a bit easier to practice. I was forced to stop and rethink things. However since then, I have made a commitment to the practice of unstructured time – and the ideas have flowed. It also made me more patient, less frustrated and generally more content with my life and work. In turn, taking time for myself to think and explore has allowed me to give more time to the people and things in my life that matter. Time in the woodshed allows me to sort through all the bullshit that generally would keep me bothered and less present when faced with the important things.
We all have the time to think. It’s not easy but there are also no excuses. Our challenge is to find the discipline to stay clear of distraction, to prioritize our mental health and to dedicate ourselves a fraction of those 675,000 hours alone in the woodshed. We may not come out being jazz legends or great philosophers, but we will come out being a better version of ourselves – and isn’t that worth 1.5% of your life?
Let’s do this.
-Shaun