MINDSET RESET:
Let Your Music Flow

Toxic Perfectionism vs. The Freedom to just BE.

In music, I find flow.

A release

A vision

A story I’d left untold.

But dreamt of — always —

This feeling, this longing

Ethereal, in my dreams.

The melody takes me there,

To where I long to be.

Where mood melds with sound.

Note by note.

I feel that rising in my chest

That free-flowing ease

Welcoming me, inviting me to rest.

Gone is the torment

To restrict

To perfect

To contain what’s inside of me.

Here,

I flow freely

Allow my true Self to be seen

There’s cadence

There’s lyric

Words meant for me to sing

Along slow moving fingers

A breath

Two

Released

Easily, I unfold.

Charmed by the words once whispered.

Eagerly, I voice what’s longed to be told.

What I long kept hidden

Resounds, reverberating deep in my chest

Sound captures heart

Releasing tears I must shed.

’Til a smile breaks forth.

I can breathe the fresh air.

The music, alive, enlivened in me.

I am one with the notes

My hands dance

My fingers glide

Swiftly over black, then white.

From one turn of phrase

To another

From chorus to verse

In this magical place

There’s no need to be terse

To be any specific thing

To fit in any mold, no

I flow freely instead.

Unencumbered by thought

By judgment

By fear

By all the ought’s

The must’s can disappear.

For once

They are choices,

to be made (or not) by me.

I’m no longer encumbered.

I am free of the dread.

To be perfect,

I am not.

For once, I feel no need

But to be perfectly imperfect.

My truest Self, let loose.

For once, I hear my own music,

My breathing,

My thinking,

My voice, resolute.

This poem is inspired by the tension I often feel between toxic perfectionism and the freedom to just be.

The constant drive to “do better” is tiring.

So I give myself quiet moments to reflect.

Recently, I’ve made this part of my music practice. I use my piano time to deliberately rest. To relax into the notes. To slow down the tempo of my life.

When I let go, I allow myself to fully experience the music. I notice I’m much more relaxed every time I do. And the music lingers. It stays with me. Reminding me, that no matter what I’m doing, I need to soften, to take the time to listen, to actually hear the music that’s inside of me.

What about you? Do you take the time to listen, to let your music flow?

The Music in me honors & respects the Music in each of you,

Marisa

If you would like to hear or see me succeed (or flop 😂) as I practice in public, and you’d love to learn about the science of self-improvement, please Subscribe to my new YouTube Channel and signup for my free Substack Newsletter.

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are, and combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will:

• Enliven our emotions & creativity;

• Enhance our efficiency & productivity;

• Foster a greater depth of Self;

• Build the Secure Attachment that we need to develop a Growth Mindset; and,

• Reprogram our minds to pivot from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System when we need it to, more often than not.

I’ve planned so many exciting & fun things to share with you (in addition to music!) and I can’t wait for you to get all the FREE goodies I’ve prepared for you.

We CAN do this, TOGETHER!

In addition, new Chapters for my serialized science fiction series (THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES) are released every weekend on Substack. Substack Subscribers can read the 1st Book in the series for FREE! Just click here to opt-in & receive my Fiction writing!

Marisa