A few years ago, I spent countless hours each week working on music production, a hobby both technically and creatively satisfying. In the blink of an eye it could go from 10pm to sunrise. I would get so lost in the process that I would lose complete track of time. After fine-tuning my skills through short medleys, rough mashups and basic remixes, I was finally able to release a full album. It was an accomplishment that required as much hard work as it did skill, and it is one that I am truly proud of. But eventually it was time to walk away.
There are times in each of our lives where we must learn to say no. You have a big test coming up on Monday and your friends are throwing a wild Halloween party. The FOMO starts creeps in hard. Your boss asks you to take on a new project but you are already slammed from all angles. If you take on the new project your other work will suffer. Worse yet, the project too will suffer. But you want to impress your boss and you’re gunning for that big promotion. You just can’t bare to let him down.
These are but two examples times when, despite all difficulty, we must all learn to say no. The only greater fear than that of missing out may be the fear of disappointing others. Quite often, it is also the fear of disappointing ourselves. The is one of the great barriers we have to aiming high – we are afraid of failure because if we fail we will be disappointed and no one likes to project their own discomfort. But it is this discomfort that creates our very best learning opportunities, which is why it is crucial that we fail, over and over again, until we are so determined to never fail again. This is how the magic happens.
So I released one last track, and put everything into it. I released it to my friends and fans and decided to walk away. I am sure that one day I will return to it but for now I can say goodbye. My most limited resource is time, time that is needed elsewhere in my life if I want to accomplish even a fraction of what I am setting out towards. My only hope in getting there is to keep on saying no.
By Aryeh Carni
ARYEH CARNI 