How to Be Determined

Have you ever felt like you can't finish anything?

Every time you try to learn a song on your acoustic guitar you learn the first few riffs and then get bored and then move on. You want to stick with one song and learn it all the way through but somehow you find yourself moving on to another song before you have completed the previous one.

And you start to wonder: how can you become determined? How can you pick one song and then make sure you don't give up until you have mastered it?

Well I have assembled a list of 5 techniques that work. Take a look at them and read them slowly. Then apply them because you will definitely see changes.

1. Hold Back: One of the best things to do is to hold back. I am sure that you probably have a million songs that you want to learn to play and maybe that is the problem. You are allowing yourself to focus too much on the number of songs that you want to learn instead of taking it one step at a time.

You know what? Here is one thing you should do: don't let yourself do everything you want to do. In other words if your objective is to learn 20 songs in a week, don't learn everything. Instead come up with a plan where you slowly increase the number of songs you learn until you get to that 20-song mark.

You sole aim should not be on volume. It should be on playing each song you pick up perfectly.

2. See Good Reason: Here is a personal pop quiz for you: why did you decide to learn to play the acoustic guitar in the first place? Me? Yes. You. Why did you decide to do it?

And please try to answer the question faithfully. Look I am not in any way trying to play detective or something like that. The question is for you and I am asking because you need it. I am asking because it is going to be the bedrock of how far you are going to get.

So think deeply. It is there. It might not be obvious now but it is there and you will find it as long as you keep searching.

The point of all this is that as long as you have a good reason to pick up the guitar and play it, determination will always come around. Whenever you need it, it will rise up from nowhere and help you finish your task. Which in this case is a song.

3. Find a Support Network: There is one simple reality you should always have at the back of your mind. I know you know it but I will say it anyway.

You cannot do it alone. You cannot overcome you problem or even succeed at anything for that matter without the help of others. One way or another you will need people's help.

And that is why you need to call on family and mostly friends to help you through with this. They are the closest people to you and the best source of encouragement you can get any day any time. So make use of their help.

Also you can find complete strangers that are willing to help you. Where else could you find them than from the Internet? Just visit any acoustic guitar forum and you will find lots of people who are ready to partner with you to walk the road to success together. Yes they may be complete strangers today but they will become friends tomorrow when you start seeing positive results.

4. Change Your Approach: What kind of approach do you use to learn songs? One thing I have learned over the years is that approach matters a lot. It can make the difference between success and failure.

And you know what? It is very possible that the approach you use is the reason why everything is boring to you and don't want to complete each song.

My advice: change your approach. Don't try to be stubborn about trying something different from what you are used to or welcoming a few tweaks here and there. Believe me if you do this your usual experience when you play songs will change.

Let me give you a picture of one of the approaches that I use. Maybe it can help. If you find anything different from what you are used to, apply it. Okay here it goes:

Before starting to play any song I make sure I first know how to sing it well. I always get the lyrics handy so that as I listen to the songs I get to sing along. I don't stop listening until I can sing perfectly without the aid of the original song. Next it is time for a break. After the break I then come back to play the song all on my own until I get it.

Try to use this approach too and see if it works for you.

5. Watch a Video: This might look like something powerful but it is. You can get a lot of motivation hence determination from watching YouTube videos of people learning to play songs.

Now you don't necessarily have to find a video on the song you want to learn. As long as you find a video on any song, you can get inspiration from it. The other plus side of this is that you get to see a few new chords, skills and tricks that you can try and add to your arsenal.

But don't let it get to you. The primary objective of using this technique is to get inspired and not confused. Use it for its main purpose: to become determined to play a song from start to finish and even perfectly at that.

Chase Your Visions
Have you ever heard of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York USA? It was an idea born by one man: John Roebling.

What you might not know is that bridge building experts told him that it was impossible to build that kind of bridge. They told him to forget the idea and simply quit.

But what did John do? He decided to explore the impossible. He went ahead and started building the bridge but something happened along the way: there was an accident and he died. To make the whole situation worse, his son (Washington) who was also part of the team sustained so much injury that he couldn't speak or talk.

Damn! How sad. That must be the end of the story right? No. Not at all. It is where it actually gets interesting.

After the incident many people made a lot of comments. The usual condolences and best wishes. But some people said something that was shocking. "We told them so. Crazy men and their crazy dreams. It's foolish to chase wild visions."

But despite all of that, despite that fact that he couldn't speak or talk Washington found a way to communicate with the engineers through his wife and the bridge was under construction again. 13 years later it was completed and today that bridge stands as a tribute to one man's decision to go against all odds.

He was labeled mad by half the world. He was told that he was crazy. He was told to stop chasing wild visions. But he didn't listen. He pursued it and now it has become a reality.

So what is the moral of the story? Very simple: chase your visions no matter what people say.

If your vision is to learn how to play the acoustic guitar and become pretty good at playing it, then go ahead and do just that. It is your vision and you have every right to chase it.

And don't worry: people will talk. When you are a beginning guitarist, people will hear you play sometimes and they will tell you to forget the idea and simply quit. They will tell you that you are crazy. They will laugh at you and tell you to your face that you are foolishly chasing wild visions.

But don't let them get to you. Don’t give in. Don't let then shout you down. Pursue your dreams and one day they will become a reality.

If John Roebling and his son could it then so can you.

I believe in you. So get started right now.

About the Author: Samuel Lab is the founder of One Hour Acoustic Players. If you would like to learn more about what it really takes to learn to play the acoustic guitar and become a stunning player, subscribe to his blog by sending an email to onehouracousticplayers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com