172 – Are You Resigned & Cynical About Setting Goals?

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This time of year, people begin thinking about what they’d like to accomplish in the New Year.

Yet, many people are so given up on resolutions and goal setting that they don’t even attempt it.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, we’re going to explore how we can navigate our own resignation and cynicism.

Table of Contents

Podcast Highlights:

00:34 – The end of year reflection series
00:52 – Resignation and cynicism
02:13 – What is cynicism and resignation pointing to?
02:24 – Past hurts
03:00 – Where you’re given up in life
04:01 – The potential for breakthrough
05:28 – Are you ready for change?

Transcription:

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I hope you’ve been enjoying this podcast series on setting yourself up for an awesome 2020.

Instead of giving you a long list of action steps, I’ve been focusing on providing you with questions that will unlock key areas you can work on to have your best year ever.

In this episode, we’re going to be exploring resignation and cynicism and what it’s pointing to.

Some of you are going to hear these episodes and think to yourself:

“What’s the point in thinking about 2020? Nothing’s ever going to change for me.”

I believe it’s healthy to have a certain amount of skepticism and to look at things critically.

So, I’m not down on anyone that feels that way about the conversations we’ve been having.

But know it or not, this is already indicative of resignation and cynicism.

And, while listening to these episodes, if at any point you’ve been asking yourself why you should set goals, plan your year, spend time in study, do any kind of thinking or reflecting – that’s indicative of resignation and cynicism too.

If you’ve been asking yourself why you’d even bother creating another New Year’s Resolution, it’s the same thing.

I know many people, who after a certain age, just gave up on New Year’s Resolutions.

You’re not wrong for having any of these thoughts.

But it’s important to understand that if you’re not going to be actively seeking out inspiration, setting goals or creating a strategy for their achievement, you’ve already given up.

There’s nothing wrong with giving up, but if you’re not doing it consciously, you’re doing it by default.

As you can imagine, that’s a dangerous place to be.

2020 by default will be just another year for you, and that’s the last thing I want for you.

2020 by default will be just another year for you, and that’s the last thing I want for you. Click To Tweet

So, what is cynicism and resignation pointing to?

If we can understand resignation and cynicism at a deeper level, we can do something about it.

Here’s what you need to know:

First and foremost, resignation and cynicism are pointing to past hurts.

Anybody who says they haven’t experienced any tough or difficult moments in their life is lying.

Anybody who says they haven’t experienced any tough or difficult moments in their life is lying. Click To Tweet

There certainly isn’t any way to define the degree of difficulty anyone experienced.

But one thing we know for sure is that these challenges, for better and for worse, have contributed to who you are and how you’re showing up in the world daily.

The more aware you are of the events that have impacted your attitude towards life, the better equipped you will be to step outside your default way of being and create yourself as you want to be.

Second, resignation and cynicism are pointing to an area where you’re given up in life.

This may be obvious from things I’ve already said, but it’s an important point, nonetheless.

I’m not saying you’re not still in the fight, because you may very well be.

But if there’s any part of your work that’s showing up as pointless, meaningless or worthless, it’s likely because you’re given up in that area.

Maybe you’re tired of reaching out to venues to book gigs.

Maybe you’re frustrated with creating industry connections.

It could be that you don’t see any value in posting to social media one more time when your following is so small.

Are you starting to see some areas where you’re given up?

Keep in mind that the only reason you’ve given up on anything is because you’ve had a bad experience with it in the past.

The only reason you’ve given up on anything is because you’ve had a bad experience with it in the past. Click To Tweet

If you were still a child, you wouldn’t be given up on anything, because you knew, deep down, you could achieve whatever you set your mind to.

You can’t be resigned and cynical about anything you don’t have experience with.

Third, resignation and cynicism are pointing to an area where you have the potential for breakthrough.

This is the part that a lot of people miss and don’t understand.

We all have pain points in our lives.

But human nature is to run towards pleasure or comfort and run away from pain.

So, even when something unwanted persists in our lives, our best solution, much of the time, is avoidance.

The truth is, that pain is pointing to an area where you can have a breakthrough.

There are likely areas of your life where everything is going great – this suggests that while incremental improvement may be possible in this area, there are no breakthroughs to be had right now.

Breakthrough is going to come from addressing your pain.

Your pain might seem separate from your passion, but it’s not, because any area of life that’s gnawing at you steals from resources you could be dedicating to areas of your life that are important to you.

Said another way, resignation and cynicism is pointing to an area of your life where massive improvement is possible – but it all depends on your willingness to address that area of your life.

Pain is just letting you know what you need to deal with.

Pain is just letting you know what you need to deal with. Click To Tweet

When you deal with it, you’re going to achieve more freedom in your life.

If you don’t deal with it, then you can expect to live with it.

You can expect it to show up at the least opportune moments.

It will dictate your attitude towards life, as well as the behavior that stems from it.

This is the insanity many of us are living in.

Are you ready for something new?

I have a solution to help you set yourself up for an amazing 2020.

It’s called Start Your Year the Right Way, and it’s a training resource in addition to being a workbook.

It’s made up of three key parts:

Inspiration.
Goal setting.
Strategy.

It will even help you drop your baggage from 2019 as you head into 2020.

You don’t want to carry last year into next year – that’s a recipe for failure.

So, will you be picking up a copy of Start Your Year the Right Way?

Go to MusicEntrepreneurHQ.com/Year for yours and get a head start on 2020.

Time is your most valuable resource.

It’s time to learn how to make the most of it.

This is David Andrew Wiebe and I will see you on the stages of the world.

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David Andrew Wiebe

Founder & CEO at Music Entrepreneur HQ

Award-winning composer, best-selling author, professional musician coach, and podcaster of over 10 years. Wiebe helps musicians like you unlock your full potential. If you'd like to be notified whenever the blog is updated, click here to subscribe.

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