A student asked me the other day, “I am so excited about playing guitar right now, but how do I keep this enthusiasm? Will I still be this excited in 15 years?” On the spot, I mentioned a few things I find compelling to encourage enthusiasm: Getting a new guitar or equipment (motivational); Watching a favorite guitar player (inspirational); Teaching someone else guitar (challenging). Yet reflecting on his question further, I find there are two character qualities that will help you stay committed to guitar (or anything) for the long haul: passion and tenacity.
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Passion

Genuine passion is a deep, authentic commitment to something that matters to you, characterized by focused effort, enduring commitment through challenges, and integration into your identity, rather than just a fleeting interest or a pursuit of pleasure. It involves investing significant time and energy, a willingness to “suffer” or make sacrifices for it, and a deep, often unspoken, internal drive.

The true meaning of passion is a powerful, persistent, and intense emotional drive toward a self-defining activity (like playing guitar, singing, or songwriting) that is deeply aligned with your personal values. It is a strong inclination to invest time and energy into something you love, not for external rewards, but because the pursuit itself brings immense joy and fulfillment.
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Key Characteristics of Passion:

• Authentic Engagement: You are deeply involved and committed to the activity, not just passively interested.
• Commitment Through Difficulty: You are willing to persist through struggles, setbacks, and discomfort because the activity holds deep personal value.
• Investment of Time & Energy: You willingly invest significant time and energy into it, often losing track of time while doing it.
• Part of Your Identity: The activity becomes a self-defining trait; you are no longer just someone who does it, but a guitarist, a songwriter, a vocalist, etc.
• Internal Drive: Your motivation stems from an internal place, a desire to do the work itself rather than just for potential rewards or recognition.
• Focus on the Work Itself: Genuine passion is about the love for the process and the act of doing, not just the concept or the idea of success.
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Tenacity

A tenacious person is someone who is determined, persistent, and does not give up easily when pursuing a goal. They are resilient in the face of obstacles, with a strong work ethic and the resolve to see things through, even when they are difficult or progress is slow.

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Key Characteristics of Tenacity:

• Determination and persistence: A tenacious person shows persistent determination to achieve their goals, even when things get tough.
• Resilience: They are able to handle setbacks and don’t get easily discouraged by challenges.
• Strong resolve: They have a firm purpose and are unlikely to give up on their beliefs or objectives.
• Motivation: They are often self-motivated and focused on the long-term outcome.
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How to recognize if you have Passion & Tenacity:

• Look at actions, not just words: See if your behavior shows a willingness to push through difficulties for the thing you claim to be passionate about.
• Notice the details: You might pay attention to nuances others overlook in your chosen activity (guitar, songwriting, singing, etc.).
• Ask yourself if you’d do it for no reward: True passion & tenacity often show up even when there’s no immediate reward or appreciation from others.

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As you pursue guitar playing and look forward to getting better, it’s important to define goals and objectives. Here’s a closer look at what they are and how they can practically help you improve.

Goals are broad, long-term statements of what you intend to achieve, providing a general direction or vision, while objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) actions taken to reach those goals. Objectives break down a larger goal into smaller, actionable steps, allowing for progress tracking and successful completion of the overall aim.

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Goals

• Broad and Visionary: Goals are like the destination on a map, outlining the ultimate aim without detailing the route.
• Long-Term: They represent a larger outcome or ideal that is often achieved over an extended period.
• Intangible and Abstract: Goals are often conceptual and can be more difficult to quantify directly.
• Focus on the “What”: They describe what you want to achieve.
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Objectives

• Specific and Measurable: Objectives are concrete targets that can be defined with numbers or clear, tangible indicators.
• Short-Term and Tactical: They are the specific, smaller steps that are completed within a shorter time frame.
• SMART: Effective objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
• Focus on the How and When: They describe how you will achieve the goal and by when.

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How They Work Together

1. Set a Goal: Start with a broad, overarching goal.

2. Define Objectives: Break the goal into smaller, specific, and measurable objectives.

3. Track Progress: Use the objectives to track progress and make adjustments as needed.

4. Achieve the Goal: By accomplishing the individual objectives, you move closer to achieving the main goal.

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Example with Health

Goal:
– To improve your physical health.

Objectives:
– Exercise for 30 minutes every day for the next month.
– Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
– Drink 8 glasses of water per day.

Example with Guitar

Goal:
– To improve your ability to play chords.

Objectives:
– Practice chords for 20 minutes every day for the next month.
– Play through 4 different chord progressions while changing chords quickly.
– Learn at least 10 new chords a week.

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In order to keep your motivation and initiative thriving from lesson to lesson, it is essential to keep a balance between discipline and desire.  Discipline is the “I will” aspect of our commitment toward learning something.  Desire is the “I want” aspect of our commitment toward learning something.  Inspired to play guitar, we get the desire and say “I want to learn that cool instrument.”  Then we embark on a journey to learn the guitar and try to be disciplined saying, “I will do what it takes to get better on the instrument.”  You must have both of these to be effective in your training (I will and I want).  You can have the I want to play all day long, but without the I will, you will never actually learn to play.  You may have the I will, but without the I want, practicing gets dull and isn’t very fun.
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When you practice, remember why you started in the first place and get your desire ramped up.  Then let your discipline kick in and take the time necessary to make noticeable progress.  You will find more creativity and satisfaction in your playing as you keep both discipline and desire strong and in balance.

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Thinking about the frequency of your practicing and rehearsing is helpful to improve your skill and ability. “Practicing” is the habitual procedure or way of doing something, to exercise a skill repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency. “Rehearsing” is practicing for a later public performance. I think of them as practically the same and will use the word practice for both.

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So, how often do you practice?  I know of some musicians who practice 6 to 8 hours a day and others who practice 6 to 8 minutes a week.  You would agree that practice makes better, right?  Sometimes it’s not just about the time you put in, but the quality of what you practice.  Practice is about Repetition and not just Duration. Break it down to smaller segments more often. 10 minutes twice a day is better than 20 minutes once a day. It’s good to go over exercises, songs and techniques until you get them accurate and at a good pace. Make it your aim to put in a little more time in practicing than you have been. You’ll see the difference!

Take a look at this general practice scale and think of how often you practice.  Based on practicing 6 days a week, here is a scale from 1 to 5. What number are you at?

1 = Up to 1 hour a week or 10 minutes a day

2 = Up to 2 hours a week or 20 minutes a day

3 = Up to 3 hours a week or 30 minutes a day

4 = Up to 6 hours a week or 1 hour a day

5 = Over 6 hours a week or over 1 hour a day