DISRUPTION: PREREQUISITE TO PROGRESS. Something didn’t sit right with me about a commercial I just heard for a drug and alcohol addiction treatment center. At the end, they said “we even offer outpatient treatment so your life isn’t disrupted.”

I’m not going to knock this hospital’s programs or make any claims against them, but I do see a problem with that statement “so your life isn’t disrupted.” My first thought was that if I’m addicted to drugs or alcohol, my life needs to be disrupted. Before it gets completely ruined. Next, I told myself I can’t even learn a new song without some disruption, and these people want to get off drugs and alcohol without it!?

If I’m not willing to disrupt anything about my normal routine in order to attain a new goal, then that goal must not be very important to me. Try to think of any major event or development in our world that was not accompanied by disruption. A sculptor has to disrupt the previous state of the rock. A builder has to disrupt the previous state of the earth. When Guitar Center came to our town they disrupted the previous state of the musical instrument market. Disruption is just part of the process of change and progress. In order to move ahead the current status-quo must be challenged. Without disruption of some kind, there can be no improvment.

So, are you willing to disrupt some part of your life in order to improve your musical abilities? Forgoing some leisure time to spend more time with your instrument? Turning off the Xbox® or PlayStation®? Staying home tonight to practice instead of going out to party? It’s easy to be bothered by disruption, until we realize what is attached to it: progress. The amount of disruption we’re willing to endure will determine the level of progress we’re able to achieve. Go be disruptive!