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The word for today is performance. If you’ve ever performed song, dance, theater or anything else, you know that it can be intimidating to be in the spotlight, but if you’ve stuck with it long enough you’ve probably found enjoyment within the chaos. Two performances stick out in my mind as particularly worthwhile and memorable. The first was unplanned. My family was visiting my cousins in Florence, AL, and we usually just stayed there and watched movies. However, this particular time, my middle cousin took my brother and me to Godfather’s Pizza. His wife, then girlfriend, was closing the store, and a couple of his friends were playing music there. After they played for a while, they asked if my brother or I wanted to play a song. I played “Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead, and I probably wouldn't remember the performance, except that my cousin’s wife later commented on it. She didn’t say that my playing was exceptional or that she enjoyed the song. She said that it sounded like a CD. That was maybe the best thing she could have said, because it would be easy for modesty to downplay anything said about my playing or singing. The second memorable performance was very much planned. My wife wanted to come down the aisle at our wedding to Ben Folds’ “The Luckiest,” so I conspired with the wedding pianist for him to play it and I would sing it as a surprise. I underestimated the nerves on this one. [singing “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds] As she began to come through the door, my voice got shaky, but the quality of the performance didn’t matter this time. It was the follow-through that mattered.

Today’s concrete challenge is to perform in front of people. Going through the process of learning something well enough to perform it is great for your brain’s health and self confidence. Even if it’s a short poem, commit it to memory and put your own flavor on the performance. You are the only person who can perform it like you.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will find something to memorize and perform now.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who finds joy in performance.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

Memorization: A Proven Method of Learning

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