Purgatory of When

Purgatory of When

My students had their annual spring recital this weekend. I had the pleasure of speaking with some of the guests who mentioned feeling stuck and trying to figure out their next move. "I don't know; I guess WHEN this is taken care of, I'll do that."

Driving home, I thought about our conversation and realized they said, "When this is done, I'll do that" a lot. It's like they're in purgatory. They're not in a bad spot, but they're not thriving either. I recognized it because I'd been there. I thought, well, when this happens, I'll do that; when I take care of this, I'll do that. But I didn't. I got comfortable and just existed. I didn't thrive.

The problem with "when" is that there is some truth to "when." You really do have to take care of some things before you can make another move. But it doesn't mean you can't do anything at all. When "when" hits, you need to rethink your approach when "when" gets in the way. Ask yourself, what can you do differently? You may need to take a smaller step. It's probably time to take care of "when" and get it out of your way.

I've noticed musicians who hit rock bottom say, "I have to," and musicians who aren't thriving say, "When." The musicians who aren't thriving don't want it bad enough (yet); they haven't hit rock bottom, and they're not in enough pain or uncomfortable enough to make a change.

You may not be at rock bottom, but you may be in purgatory. If you are, don't you think you should do something about it?