I'm working on some new projects (more info TBA!), and I always find something interesting about practicing for them and preparing them. In the process, it's easy to slip into a "not enough" mindset:

For example: "That wasn't good enough!" "Why didn't that note go well?" "That was too _______," "That wasn't _______ enough," etc. etc.

As you might imagine, this is definitely not a productive way to go about preparing any project!

In my experience, it's always been much more productive to take a different approach, such as applying the following in a practice session:

"I'm aligned along the rest of my range, and all I need to do to fix that note is to apply what I do with all the other notes to it. If I do that, I'll nail that note consistently in no time."

Admittedly, that mindset is something I continue to work at, but it's definitely worth it!

I believe that as a singer, I'm in the business of bringing both the power and vulnerability of the human voice to people--not just vocally, but emotionally as well. The more I sing, the more convinced I am that practicing what I preach begins with how I talk to myself in the practice room. I believe that if I work constructively, yet objectively, I can be much more vulnerable yet strong onstage than I would otherwise, while consistently improving my technique as well.

I'm personally not a big believer in New Year's resolutions because they too often can be overly goal-oriented, at the expense of the process of reaching for that goal. (I fully support going after what you want! I simply believe in keeping the process in mind as well.) Instead, I believe that if I approach any pursuit in life, career-oriented or not, with a constructive, objective, yet positive approach--working on cultivating what I DO want vs fighting against what I DON'T want--then the outcome will be just as good, and often better, than anything I could have anticipated. I've always been much more successful in my pursuits when I worked with myself, rather than against myself.

With all of this in mind, I wish you a happy and productive 2015!

Now, off to the Met auditions! :)