When you quit, you really have lost at that point.
Facing defeats, real or perceived, can be hard though. It can seem as if that audition, or that part was THE ONLY PART EVER!!!! Having not gotten it, one might think that they've come to the end of the road. From one perspective, you have. That specific instance of that specific part has gone, but it is likely that similar opportunities will come around. You may even find that more desirable ones surface in the not terribly distant future.
This is where changing our mindset makes such a huge difference, and changes perceived defeat into learning.
Take a moment to reflect on your process leading up to that experience. Look at the circumstances and see if anything could have been done differently, that might have altered your preparation for the better. Was there more that could've been done in selecting your materials?
I try to leave a little time before I start this type of reflection, but not so much that I forget the specifics of my preparation for the audition.
Finally, sometimes, it's just not going to go your way, and it wasn't going to go your way from before you even started getting ready. Programming considerations, seasonal repertoire choices, and the likes/dislikes of directors or judges are outside of your control. In times like that, you may have learn to accept that it just wasn't going to happen.
But...
You can still keep going.
RVC Members check your podcast for practical applications of this mindset. Let me know what you think in the community!
