Don’t beat yourself up, enjoy the process

I often hear a lot of music producers talking about 'the struggle', the need to be in a different place than they are currently, the need to make more money from music, the need to become better at what they do... the need to be somewhere they are not currently.

If there is one thing I have learned about running a company, it's that change is inevitable. 5 or 10 years from now, things will be different. But often, it's difficult to know exactly how things will be different. As much as you try and control the future, it has a habit of being wildly unpredictable. But you know what ... that's really exciting!

We go through life being told that we should focus on imaginary, fixed things in the future in order to achieve our goals. We picture a lifestyle we don’t currently have, we imagine a studio full of gear we don’t currently own (Four Tet being an exception to the rule), we believe that if we visualise a better future and put up with suffering in the here and now, one day things will just be better.

I have never met anyone who has said to me ‘Dave, I achieved all of my goals yesterday and now I’m the happiest person in the world!’ The happiest people I have met are the people who are happy in that moment. They haven’t ‘made it,’ they are comfortable with where they are and where they are going. The happiest I have ever been is when I am doing something I love with people I love. Not when I’m struggling for a better future or imagining something that isn’t real.

No one wants to stand still, get stuck, or feel like they are going backwards. Change is inevitable, we can accept that. The universe is expanding, particles are colliding and we’re all getting a little bit older every day. But instead of focusing on an imaginary, fixed goal in the future, why not focus a little bit more on the here and now and the direction we are moving in?

Are you happy now? Does it feel right? Take a look around you, bring yourself into that moment, then do what you love doing and enjoy it. Chances are you’ll be going in the right direction.

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