2023: What I Learned

Back in August, I was attending New Faculty Orientation here at Vanderbilt University. As part of orientation, the Chancellor gave new faculty an interesting challenge (which I will paraphrase here): to think SO BIG that at least a few of your ideas would fail.

I love this sort of thinking. It’s motivational, driven and exciting — exactly what I felt I needed at this phase of my career (this is my ninth year teaching in higher education — so while I don’t consider myself an expert, I don’t consider myself a novice, either) .

But, if I’m being completely honest, while I loved the challenge put forth by the Chancellor, I also thought it didn’t really apply to me. Somehow, I thought I was beyond the phase of my life in which failure was a possibility.

Seeing that in writing is humbling, which is probably the feeling I’ve felt most in 2023. Which isn’t to say that the year has been marked by more failures than successes. That’s definitely not true. What I mean to say is that 2023 has taught me to reevaluate my perspective, my goals and my priorities. Accordingly, I wanted to take a moment to share a few important lessons I’ve learned over the course of 2023 — perhaps you can relate, or perhaps you have others you’d like to share. I’d love to hear. Happy New Year, All!

Beth’s Top 10 Lessons Learned in 2023 (in no specific order)

If you want to succeed big, you have to be willing to fail big. Vulnerability, risk and success go hand-in-hand.
Success is personal and can change. In this day and age of social media, we are bombarded with images of success. Appreciate that others are sharing their vision, but remember that it isn’t yours.
The first notes of your practice session will set the tone for the day. Literally, and figuratively.
Live your life in the following order: human, musician, tubist (or whatever instrument you play).
Learn to listen to yourself objectively. This makes improvement both faster and less emotionally taxing.
The only way to accomplish #5 is to record yourself. If you’re not doing this in your practice daily, someone else is.
Take up space. As both a person and a performer.
Think carefully about what it means to be a good listener. As both a person and a performer.
Success and failure are both temporary.
There are three valuable questions to ask: what, why and how. What and how will lead you to be productive, but why will lead you to be purposeful. If you don’t have a clear answer to the question why, think carefully and/or consider reevaluating.