Skip to main content

Feeling the Love: Reassessing Yearly Goals at the Halfway Point

July 2 is exactly the midpoint of the year, with 182 days preceding and 182 days to follow. It seems like a good time to reassess my goals for 2025. In years past, I would post my goals in January. This year, I didn't even bother doing that. I figured you probably get tired of constantly hearing how I'm behind on my playing goals, so guess what? 

I'm behind on my playing goals this year. 

I totally missed two months of playing, not playing at all in March and May. However, I started to get back into a groove in June. I'm hoping to use that momentum for second half push to get back to playing music regularly. 

I typically set three playing time goals each year: a primary goal, a minimum goal and a stretch goal. I was hoping to reach 100 hours of combined playing this year, with a minimum goal of beating last year's total of 85 hours and a stretch goal of 124 hours. 

Having missed two whole months and topping out at a combined 5.5 hours in February, the only goal that I can really still shoot for is to beat last year's total. But even that would be tough. 

However, with revised goals in hand, I feel good about my music playing the rest of the year. There are some local festival coming up, and I'm hoping to make it out to a jam or two before the year is over. What are your goals? 

Last Kind Words

Even though The Glory-Beaming Banjo has been rather dormant this year, I've received several kind comments and direct messages from readers this year. I truly appreciate those of you who take time to send me words of encouragement. 

GeoffLB wrote on my previous post: "You mention, sometimes rather wistfully, having a lot of periods without playing music. Don't be discouraged, with a young family and work pressures it's bound to happen. Just take heart from the fact that it gets better. I retired 13 years ago and have barely missed a day playing either banjo or guitar. Easily 4,000 hours at a guess, without breaking sweat! Stick with it meanwhile, enjoy the time you can spend with music and don't beat yourself up about missed targets."

Despite mentioning my lack of playing again in this very post, reading those words provided a lot of solace. It's easy to get down on myself for not reaching my goals. 

Getting comments like that really boost my spirits, and encouraged me to pull this post together. I'd also like to thank D and Gordon for contributing to my Ko-Fi account. I truly appreciate that you find my blog worthy of your hard-earned money. It means a lot. And I'm not just saying that to encourage more people to give me money, but if you feel so inclined ... 

Buy me a coffee?

If you like what you see at The Glory-Beaming Banjo and want to see more, please consider showing your support by buying me a cup of coffee through my Ko-Fi account. Your donation will provide encouragement and help fund future blog posts. I appreciate your readership!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Ultimate Banjo Joke Compendium

This post is dedicated to my friend Joel Specht. Ever since the Olitsky & Moskovitz concert last month, my son has been obsessed with banjo jokes. During one of the MANY tuning breaks, they asked the crowd to fill the time by telling their favorite quips about the old five-string. Joel told many that night. I've been trying to remember them, along with best ones I've heard over the years for when my son asks again, so I thought I'd make this list. Question: What's the difference between a banjo and an onion? Answer: Nobody cries when you cut up a banjo. Question: How do you know if the floor is level? Answer: The banjo player is drooling out of both sides of his mouth. Question: What's the difference between a banjo and trampoline? Answer: You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline. Question: What's the definition of perfect pitch? Answer: When you can throw a banjo into a dumpster without hitting the sides. Question: How do yo...

Clawhammer Picks and You: A Review

Clawhammer picks are a useful tool for increasing volume or to overcome fingernail challenges, such as broken, too short or weak nails. There are all sorts of commercial and homemade solutions available for banjo players, but it can be difficult to decide which options to choose. Thankfully, I've already done some of the work for you. Just to be clear, I prefer my natural fingernail for frailing. However, there was a time when I experimented with regularly using a pick, and there are instances now where I find that a pick is necessary. Today, I'll take you through the five options I've tried. These are all available online at prices ranging from about $1 to $13. Reversed/Reshaped Dunlop Pick ($0.75) This was the most common suggestion before other companies started addressing the gap in the clawhammer pick market. Take a bluegrass pick, flatten it out and wear it backwards. The problem is that it's hard to get the fit right. While Dunlop picks are cheap and r...

Summer Blockbusters: Top 10 Banjo Movies

We’re nearing the end of the summer movie season, which this year has included blockbusters like Avengers: Infinity War , Solo: A Star Wars Story , Incredibles 2 and other movies, including some that weren’t produced by Disney. However, none of these films showcases a banjo in any way. It's not like the banjo hasn't been featured on the silver screen throughout film history. The five-string has starred in numerous movies, sometimes in its proper context as a musical instrument and other times as a comedic prop. Whether making a cameo or starring in the hands of the main character, it's well past time to present my Top 10 Banjo Blockbusters: O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, this movie sucked me into the realm of old-time , bluegrass and country music in general. The banjo is featured in a number of songs on the soundtrack and shows up on screen a few times throughout the movie. Top Banjo Moment: Delmar picks the banjo b...