'i will never become good at piano, i quit'

Comment: It's too bad I'll never get good at piano no matter how hard I try. I just don't see it's worth. It takes me forever. I'll be 50 and only know a few songs. There's no point. I quit

Response: Hey, don't get down on yourself. Ask yourself this: what's your goal with piano? Is it to become the best in the world? It might sound harsh, but it's better to understand this sooner than later. You will never be the best in the world.

This isn't discouragement. Rather, you have to understand what the scope of the term "best in the world" entails.

There are over 8 billion people on this Earth. You have a far greater chance of winning the lottery than being the best in the world at this, because there's not even a minimum skill requirement for winning the lottery.

Ok, now your goal isn't to be the best in the world. What does this mean? It means no matter how good you get, there will always be someone better than you. You have to come to terms with this.

Ok... So there's other people that can do the same thing as you but more efficiently. Does this make you less of a person?

I've always been obsessed with skill and skill levels my whole life. I'm obsessed with meritocracy and the fact that those who are more intelligent and more skilled deserve a place on this Earth more than I do. Trust me, I've never stopped comparing myself to others around me and online. I always told myself that... if I can never be the best, then what's the point?

This is a very unhealthy mindset, and it's one that has messed me up for years. It's been hard for me, but I've acknowledged the fact that I can only become the best version of myself. What is it that I, myself, want to do? How can I be happy?

I am obsessed with this Mereaux etude, as well as 24. Because of the mindset that's plagued me my whole life, I want to be craft the best recordings of these pieces, but ultimately, those goals are secondary.

I play piano because it's *fun*.

I love how these pieces sound. I love how it feels to move my hands over the keys as I play them. I love that, with pieces as difficult as these, I can see myself improving even though I've practiced them over and over for so long (it's been almost a year now for etude 45 and over a year for 24).

By finding what's fun for me with piano, it's become much easier to worry about what others are accomplishing.

I will never be the best in the world. But I enjoy piano. This enjoyment is what allows me to play freely.

That's the most important thing at the end of the day. Don't worry about being "good" if your goal isn't to win competitions all the time. Find something within the instrument that allows you to enjoy yourself and pursue that.

**What can you do to become the best version of yourself?**

If you can't find anything, then maybe piano isn't for you, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with leaving it alone if all it causes you is stress.

I wish you the best :)

PS: I am horrendous at reading music because all I do is practice the same pieces over and over. So I have to exact same worries as you do... How many pieces will I learn when I'm old? Lol.