In administering the Self-Management Questionnaire to literally hundreds of singers, I discovered that most singers have a very long list of activities that they “would like to do, but don’t.” Why is that? Why do singers experience such intense disorganization resulting in frustration and hopelessness? Can we do anything to help?
A study on “Hope Therapy” written about in Medical News Today claims that hope is a very high predictor of long-term fulfillment and general well-being. In the study, Jennifer Cheavens, assistant professor of psychology at The Ohio State University found that hope is something that can be learned and in turn, something that can be taught.
So what is hope? Different than blanket optimism, hope is a realistic expectation of satisfaction through developing and working toward goals. It sounds complex, but it can be made simple. Be goal-oriented. Enjoy the process. Do the little things. Stay flexible.
Then how do we teach “hope?” Hopeful people tend to have both high “pathways” thinking (the ability to generate options) and high “agency” (the will or motivation to pursue those options). Singers as with all free-lance artists tend to fall into one of these four types:
| Agency | ||||
| Low | High | |||
| Pathways | High | Scattered | Savvy | |
| Low | Entrenched | Inflexible | ||
- Scattered – Delightfully excited about singing yet lacks a certain focus to deliver consistently.
- Savvy – Stays aware of options and practices well. They are very “teachable” and leave good impressions.
- Entrenched – Worries about the future affect their motivation and ability to enjoy the process.
- Inflexible – Puts in the hours toward a specific vision and tends to be grumpy outside of their comfort zone.
Velvet Singer seminars help the scattered find focus, shows new options to the inflexible, gives the entrenched the tools to dig out, and makes the savvy more efficient.