So you can imagine how rough it was to practice four hours a day in my little room, especially when I was usually already exhausted, or had homework to do as well, or was excited to go somewhere that night. It was quite the struggle for my brain and it had very detrimental effects upon the quality and productiveness of my practice sessions.
However, I don't think that I am the only one who has ever done these things. I think we all get distracted easily and unnecessarily burden ourselves so we cannot complete our task or just plain forget the why of the task.
I cannot tell you the number of days where I went into my practice room and when I looked into the mirror I didn't see a correction I needed to make in my hand position, or bow hold or fingerings. I saw that my hair looked really awful that day, or my shirt really made me look chunky, or my skin or eyebrows looked wild. And therein lied the problem, What on earth did that have to do with helping me become a professional violinist? Was thinking about that going to do anything other than make me feel awful or angry?
How often do you add burdens to your load that you do not need to carry? How often do you go where you need to for a purpose and let what only YOU see in your reflection get in the way of why you are there? Do you take the stress of your job home? Do you let those extra pounds stop you from being your outgoing self? Do you expect yourself to be perfect in everything all the time? Does every single little hair really need to be in place when you are alone in a tiny little practice room? Why take anything more into the room that you need to?
Outside of the practice room in the real world, we all have burdens and struggles. There are things that are constantly pulling at us in all directions. You may have work load put upon you that is far too much for one person, your children may be struggling in school and getting involved in the wrong crowds, you may feel down about your appearance or living situation, you may have an mental or physical illness that seems to limit your opportunities, you may be out of work, broken hearted from a failed relationship, tempted by the things the world seems to make look more and more acceptable each day, you may be struggling with your faith, or maybe everything just seems to be out of whack today or this week or the past few years.
In this you can know, you are not alone. Not only do those around you have problems in similar proportion, but the Savior, Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven are by your side.
In a recent conference talk, Linda S. Reeves said-
"Our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, know us and love us. They know when we are in pain or suffering in any way. They do not say, 'It’s OK that you’re in pain right now because soon everything is going to be all right. You will be healed, or your husband will find a job, or your wandering child will come back.' They feel the depth of our suffering, and we can feel of Their love and compassion in our suffering."They are there to support you and have given us times and places to find that support away from the world. I remember years ago in a seminary class learning about the principle of "YAGOTTAWANNA" (you have to really want to) that I am still learning to apply in my practice room and in how I live the gospel today.
Elder Jack H. Goaslind explains-
"Proper worship illustrates how “Yagottawanna” works. For example, how many of you have assumed the “bored position” during sacrament meeting? You know the position: bent forward at the waist, chin resting on hands, elbows on knees, staring vacantly at the floor. Has it occurred to you that it is your choice whether the meeting is interesting or not?Several years ago I heard about a good brother who described his attitude as President David O. McKay gave the concluding talk of general conference. It was a sultry afternoon, and this was the fifth session he had attended. He was sitting in the balcony, and his mind had a serious wandering problem. He noticed a man sitting in the middle section who had fallen asleep with his head tilted back and his mouth open. It occurred to him that if he were in the roof of the Tabernacle, he could drop a spit wad through one of the vent holes right into the mouth of that sleeping man. What a glorious thought! Following the meeting, he overheard two men talking about their feelings during President McKay’s talk. They were visibly moved by what they had heard. He thought to himself, These two brethren were having a marvelous spiritual experience, and what was I doing? Thinking about dropping spit wads from the ceiling!President Spencer W. Kimball said that worship 'is an individual responsibility, and regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, he may do so. … If the service is a failure to you, you have failed. No one can worship for you; you must do your own waiting upon the Lord.'" -Yagottawanna
My practice was only effectice when I wanted it to be and made it so, that is the same with Church, and any other aspect of gospel learning.
There is a reason that I carried a massive amount of music with me into that practice room. How could I ever focus if I did not have instructions and notes to read. I would never be able to find the melodies of the great composers by just playing note after note on my own.
We have such instructions from our Father in Heaven to help us focus, Elder Richard G. Scott lovingly spoke of scriptures in this way-
"Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high. They can become the key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ...They can become stalwart friends that are not limited by geography or calendar. They are always available when needed. Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost. Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world." - The Power of Scripture
How often does your mind wander when you are reading your scriptures? Are you thinking of that cute guy or girl in your class? Are you focusing on what else you could be doing with your time or today's to-do list? Are you thinking about the movie you saw last night? etc. etc. Or even worse, How often do we leave our scriptures on the shelf, untouched and barely noticed? That would be like me leaving my music outside the practice room door and hoping to be able to play the exact right thing I needed without ever looking at it. When it comes time to perform, I wont have the music there to help anymore and I will probably make a fool of myself.
Yagottawanna learn and then show that by searching for something that will grab you in the scriptures. I challenge you to do that so you too can experience what Elder Scott talked about above.
Most importantly, yagottawanna really talk to your Father in Heaven every day. President Thomas S. Monson said-
“Our prayers are heard and answered. We are familiar with the truth found in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon: ‘Men are, that they might have joy’ (2 Nephi 2:25). I testify that much of that joy comes as we recognize that we can communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer and that those prayers will be heard and answered—perhaps not how and when we expected they would be answered, but they will be answered and by a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us perfectly and who desires our happiness. Hasn’t He promised us, ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers’ (D&C 112:10)? …“… Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives.” -Love, Joy and Inspiration
