The Houston SAI competition is over, costumes and makeup are put away, and everyone is back to their “everyday” life. For some, medals are hanging proudly round the neck ; for others, the score sheet analysis continues and for everyone, the memories live on.
Getting prepped for competition requires an intense amount of work and commitment and when it is all over, whether or not you achieved your goal, there can be a profound sense of “let down”. As a chorus leader, it is important to recognize and deal with this “let down” as it can reflect in apathy, drained energy, loss of focus, lack of motivation, and uncertainty about the future. In fact, as a leader, you may feel many of those symptoms yourself.
5 Key Things to do when the Competition is Over
1/ Celebrate: Make sure your chorus or quartet celebrates its success – no matter what your “result” was. Think about your achievement, recognize what went well, laugh and debrief. Keep the positive memories flowing.
2/ Notice and Accept: Notice any feelings or symptoms you or your chorus mates may be experiencing. Are you disappointed? Exhausted? Happy? Elated? Just “Blah”? Accept that you may have conflicting feelings of elation, exhaustion and let down that rise up at different times of the day or week and that is perfectly okay.
3/ Discuss and Allow: Give some time for your chorus to talk about how they are feeling. If you are the chorus leader, share how you are feeling. Allow yourself and your chorus to feel whatever it is you feel and don’t be alarmed if the emotions are widely varied.
4/ Reflect and Look Forward: Reflect on the learnings from your competition lead-up and performances. What went well? What is a “learning edge” for you and your group? What do you want to create for the future? Be sure to keep your thoughts and discussions very firmly in the: What we HAVE and/or What we WANT for the future rather than what we DIDN’T do and/or DON’T want.
5/ Remind and Re-Ignite: Remind yourselves of why you participate in this amazing art form. Re-connect to the power of harmony. Re-ignite you and your group’s passion by dreaming of the future possibilities. What is your future vision? What are you dreaming about?
And of course, SING!!! A lot….
Jan Carley, Inner Coach of Barbershop
email: jan@innercoachofbarbershop.com
