The ONE thing that everyone should learn to be...

I have been a part of many worship teams and groups. I will be the first to admit I do not know what I am doing. I am not the best at music theory, I am an amateur guitarist and I am not as skilled at the violin as I should be. Vocally I am growing but there are many people out there that have a better ear and more talent. I often look back on the different opportunities that I have had and wondered why I was the one who got the gig. Often it had little to do with my abilities.

I remember growing up playing baseball. I thought I was going to be a pro player like Tim Lincecum! During those years of being on teams, under dozens of coaches, I learned some important lessons about life in general. The guys that started were not always the best players. Sometimes this was due to favoritism, but usually, I found that the coach put players on the field that listened to him AND changed what they did according to his instruction. This is called being coachable, and throughout my baseball years, being coachable was a more important skill than hitting dingers.

Take all this with a grain of salt, I am but a young lad writing down my silly ideas that I will likely scoff at in the next few years.

Being coachable is key to being successful not only in baseball but in everything you do. Your job, relationships, spiritual growth and in music.

But what does it mean to be coachable? How do you become a coachable person? I will propose three ways that I practically try to be a coachable person. There are probably hundreds of ways you can implement this idea, but this will hopefully set the stage.

1. Be Humble

I know this sounds silly to even say. "Duh", but I do not think the importance of being humble can be understated. Often I will think, "I am being humble" because I am not going around telling everyone how awesome I am, but that is not humility. It is those little thoughts you have during a rehearsal or practice. "What is he doing?", "Oh, that was a little flat" even when kept to yourself, these private thoughts breed pride and impact others. People know you are judging and not a coachable person just by your attitude. Control your thoughts and be aware of how they affect you and others.

2. Be Encouraging!

This one ties into humility in many ways. The best way to be coachable is to encourage others on the team. DISCLAIMER: This does not mean you have to lie and tell someone who did a bad job "Good Job", but some positive encouragement never hurt anyone so use judgment. I have found that being encouraging is helpful for others but also builds an environment of positivity around yourself. So when you mess up or are late, and unprepared (which should not happen often if ever) people are much more forgiving and willing to help you in those times. Encouraging others is also a great encouragement for yourself! You feel good when you make others feel good! It also shows that you do not think you are any better than anyone else when you genuinely encourage others, which shows humility!

3. Ask for Help!

The assumption of the previous two ways to be coachable is that you do not know it all. This means you need help, you need to be coached! If you are not coachable it means, YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH! When you are coachable and people see it, they will tell you honestly what you need to work on. And they will do it out of love and in your best interest. Asking a leader, mentor, or coach for help does two things. It shows in the most clear way that you want to grow and improve, and it opens up the door of communication between you and your coach or mentor to have those conversations. Don't just ask anybody for help, only those whom you respect and are excellent at what they do. As a part of this action, if you ask for help, you must be willing to receive it openly. Do not ask for help if you do not really want it.

I hope this post is helpful to you. If you have any thoughts or comments please contact me. Again these are just my thoughts and experiences. This is not a set in stone principle. This is just something I have found to be monumentally helpful for me in anything I go to do.