Thoughts from a recovering perfectionist: commit to the bit
You may have heard of the phrase “commit to the bit” here and there, but maybe haven’t put much thought into it. But whenever I end up in a situation reflecting on performance anxiety as well as finding joy in performing music, or even every day life (in the joy of being), I always come back to that phrase - commit to the bit.
It means completely committing your whole self to whatever thing it is you’re doing, and trusting. No half-measures, no apologies - just your full self. Even when everything inside is going “no, let’s go back to what’s normal, comfortable, what we’re used to and hiding away.”
It can be scary, it can feel cringey, but if we don’t go head first through cringe, we can stay stuck in what we’re used to. It’s not about pretending the feelings aren’t there, it’s about feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
“What if I make a mistake?”
Lean into it. As I’ve said here many times - wrong but strong. If you make a mistake but sound like you’ve meant it, the audience thinks you meant it. If you play something perfectly but sound hesitant because you’re worried you’ll make a mistake - it can reflect as such in your performance.
Do you enjoy an experience more when you feel the worry and follow the hesitation or do you enjoy it more when you feel the worry and put your entire self into it?
For myself, the times I really leaned into “the bit” were some of the most joyful, the most emotional and memorable performances I’ve experienced. As someone who has struggled with tidal waves of anxiety in my life, leaning into what I feel is unapologetically me has bled over into the way I perform. There is only one of me, and when I want to communicate what I feel or whatnot through my music, I can’t hold back or else I’m doing myself a disservice.
Go all in when you’re nervous. Trust the version of you that decided this was worth doing - you are worth it. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
If you’re going to do it, do it. Fully. Loudly. Weirdly. Wonderfully.