I have been a piano teacher since I was 19 years old and because I have been a piano teacher my whole adult life, I have heard from so, so many people how they have always wanted to learn to play the piano.
This has led to many conversations with many, many random people. There are some things that I have noticed over the years, such as; there are people who sincerely would love to play the piano and those that say that they would love to play, but would never ever be willing to put in the time and effort to actually learn. They are the sort of people that if they were suddenly, magically be able to play the piano, then they would be happy with that, but otherwise they are not prepared to put in any sort of commitment at all.
Of the ones that truly want to be able to play the piano and are actually willing to put in the effort, will sometimes come up with reasons why they can’t get started yet. They include having a lack of funds, being too busy at work and no real spare time due to raising a family. I get that there are seasons in life and sometimes we are in a season that doesn’t allow us to take on something new.
There are people who have a genuine desire to want to learn to play the piano and they do have the time and energy to put into it but they procrastinate. I’m no psychology expert but I strongly suspect that people procrastinate on their dream of learning to play the piano simply because they fear failure.
The ones that are procrastinating with fulfilling their dream of playing the piano can not only fear failure but it’s like they have built there dream up so much in their head. They want to play so badly that the result is that they doubt they will ever be good enough to match their ideal and that it kind of makes them somewhat overwhelmed with the task ahead that they sort of freeze and can’t get themselves started.
There are ones that literally tell me that they will never be good enough to play the piano and because they actually believe that this is the case, they make excuses and don’t get started because they are convinced that they will fail.
These are all my theories and while I might not be an expert in these matters, I think I’m at least accurate in describing some people and their situations.
If you are the one that is procrastinating, then stop procrastinating and get started because you will regret it if you never get around to learning. You don’t have to be brilliant at playing the piano for it to be worth your while. You don’t even have to be very good at all – you just need to enjoy your time playing the piano. Even if no-one else likes hearing you play, or thinks you’re good enough – as long as you enjoy what you are playing, then it is certainly worthwhile and a decision you will never regret.