Let me give a quick recap about why you suck at piano, because I don't think this is a matter of lacking clarity. I think there's something else going on, so I want to throw it out here as a way of starting a conversation.

Here’s how you look at the problem

From your perspective, you have no time for piano because you need to spend all your time making money. But, you have ADHD, so no matter what happens, you're not capable anyway.

Now (according to you), the way to fix this is to:

* Get your life in order.

* Dedicate/block time for music.

* Work the calendar.

* Put in the reps.

* Get clarity, then money, and then ask for help.

And here’s how I look at it

I disagree. I think you’re wrong.

My diagnosis is that you have Perpetual Novice Syndrome (PNS):

* You’re afraid to screw up.

* You’re afraid to make a fool of yourself.

* You’re afraid to embarrass yourself.

* You’re comfortable where you are because you've found a familiar role.

* You don’t trust yourself.

* You don’t even like yourself.

It has nothing to do with money or time.

It has to do with the fact that you’re afraid.

You don’t want to be seen as someone who’s failing or screwing up. You don’t want to embarrass yourself, so you’ll just stay a novice forever.

But that’s OK with you because you enjoy being a novice and are comfortable with it. You even tell stories about it and try to recruit everyone else into going along with it.

See, that’s the most insidious thing about this virus: it makes you try to recruit everyone else into playing along with your nonsensical stories. It’s a horrendous disorder.

Treatment options

Unfortunately, there’s only one way to treat Perpetual Novice Syndrome and it’s NOT about putting in more reps.

What you need to do is get over your fears and be a failure (which you are, so you might as well come to terms with it). Then, we can move on and have real conversations about interesting things instead of this b******t.

—Michael

P.S. My offer still stands.

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