On Tuesday I gave my first lecture ever on Indian music. Indian, as in the continent of India, not as in Native Americans. I was far out of my comfort zone and put plenty of work into preparing it, as one usually does when panic sets in.
I say “panic” because this was one of those things that sounded like a great idea six months earlier when I proposed topics for this ship as it traveled from Singapore to Dubai. We are going to be in India for three days, so didn’t a talk on Indian Classical music make sense?
But as the departure approached, I was worried. Fortunately, I had some great materials to help me prepare, and prepare I did. I’ll have to say, the preparations paid off. I know I learned a lot and it seemed I was able to present the rudiments of this complex, ancient musical tradition to the ship’s guests in such a way as to open up avenues of understanding and generate enthusiasm.
Doing something out of your comfort zone is a good habit. And it pays off, at least if you can put serious effort into it. I was scared of the topic of Indian music (all those ragas and talas and details of Vedic chant!). I’m now simply humbled by it, realizing that the crumbs of understanding I’ve gained are but the slightest beginning. Still a long journey starts with a single footstep. And that’s a good principle to hang on when you’re flailing around in something that’s new and hard.
So you stretch and push and cram, and, at a certain point, things do click. Slowly at first, but then the content can build and, usually, make sense. This is the process of learning, and anyone who has struggled with it knows that.
But stretching beyond your comfort zone doesn’t have to be something academic. If you’ve never roller skated, then find the old-fashioned rink nearest you. If you’re clueless about playing bridge, or crocheting, then get lessons. If you’ve never hiked, well, that’s an eye-opener too, although you need to pick the right first hike so you can survive it.
That’s the key, right, as always? Hard work. And I did work hard to survive that lecture. Plus I had to fight my desire to withdraw the topic entirely. I wanted to email the director of the program and say, “You know that topic on Indian music I submitted? Well, I need to change it.” And I easily could have done so. But I didn’t. Maybe I wanted to hold out for the rewards?
Because stretching outside your zone of comfort has rewards. Or you might think of it as after-effects. Suddenly, in the prose I’m writing for our new course on Music Theory, I find myself thinking more globally about music, even though the focus is the theory of Western Music. Learning about the subdivisions of talas and practicing the solfege system of the Indian scale (sa ri ga ma pa dhi na sa) has added context to my do re mi. I already see that the new knowledge will enhance what we’re doing in this course, and all those beyond it.
Step outside of your zone of comfort and you’ll be stretched. Something new will rush in to fill up that stretched place.