Self-awareness is the first step to leveling up your career as a DJ/producer
The secret is out. Have you found yourself once again questioning the likelihood of achieving your goals as a DJ/producer? Feeling overwhelmed, unsure of what direction to go in and riddled with anxious thoughts and feelings. You want to move the needle in your dance music career but you have no idea where to start. We’ve got you. The first step in regaining control over your life as a creator in music is to focus your energy on becoming more self-aware.
Forget splashing the cash on expensive new studio equipment, or pitching yourself to a superstar agent to increase bookings. The best place to get started is with you and your mindset.
What is self-awareness?
Put simply, self-awareness is the ability to honestly identify and become aware of your traits, behaviours, thoughts and feelings. Those that are serving you, and those that are unhealthy and holding you back from maximising your true potential in dance music.
You could see self-awareness as a tool for self-control. From how you show up and navigate your life, to how to react around others and in different environments.
Sounds pretty cool so far, but how do I become self-aware?
This is no ‘one night stand.’ Oh no, you’re in it for the long run! Rather than trying to grab quick fix, view self-awareness as something that becomes woven into the fabric of who you are as an individual and as a DJ/producer.
Journaling is one of the easiest and most effective ways to better understand yourself and your habits. From there, you can make an honest judgment with yourself and find areas for self-development. You can take notes daily, or every few days. Keep it simple to start with. Write about how your day has gone and with each experience, event or moment, write down what you felt at the time.
Perhaps you went into the studio for a production session on that new track that you’ve been meaning to start for a while? You instantly hit a creative block when it came to beat making. You felt overwhelmed staring at a blank screen not knowing where to start. It all felt too much so you quickly shut the laptop and avoided the whole situation. If you relate, then procrastination could be something that you need to become more aware of and begin to work on.
Meditation can be another useful tool in becoming more aware of yourself as it allows you to slow down and take a moment to look around you. Notice your thoughts, your feelings and process them. You can even find guided meditations for specific feelings or hurdles such as self-confidence, or creative block.
📞 Incoming call from The Captain: “For self-awareness journal prompts, guided meditations and more practical advice on cultivating wellness in dance music, be sure to check out our FREE resources library.”
How will self-awareness help me to build a sustainable career in dance music?
We’ve covered what self-awareness is and how you can adopt some basic self-aware practices into your daily life. Now for the juicy bit. How will self-awareness help you to level up your career in dance music as a DJ/producer? Well, here are just a few examples.
Build stronger relationships in the music industry - networking is essential to a thriving career in the music industry so that you can always know where your next opportunity is going to come from. With more self-awareness you can become more empathetic to how other people view you and from there, determine how you want to show up in music - on your own terms. Once you understand your own values and motives, you can actively fill your inner circle with industry friends and mentors who share these values. This leads nicely onto the next benefit of becoming more self-aware!
You’ll make better decisions - by understanding your deepest needs, motivations and long term goals in dance music, you can confidently make decisions that truly align with you and your vision. You will learn to assess the value of certain opportunities, be that labels, gigs, or collaborations, and honestly answer the question: ‘does this help me get to where I want to be in electronic dance music?’ Learning to make efficient, strategic decisions will allow you to smash your goals as a DJ/producer quicker.
Increased motivation and productivity - if you are making decisions on what projects, releases or live music events based on your values, goals and desires then the likelihood is that you’ll be genuinely passionate about the work. Resulting in more motivation and productivity so that you can crank out more music consistently and get released or booked on the regular.
You’ll be an even HAPPIER version of you! - is that not the goal we are all aiming for in life? Living your authentic life as a DJ/producer based on your intrinsic needs is sure to raise your vibrations so that you can have more energy overall. When you feel happier and more energised, you’ll find more enjoyment in the process of creating a pounding techno track from start to finish. You’ll evoke a deeper, more energetic connection from a crowd in that hot and sweaty, underground club that you’ve always dreamt of playing. You’ll fully immerse yourself amongst the vivacious crowd of festival-goers covered head to toe in glitter and neon paint and be able to fully live in that moment as it happens. Besides, who doesn’t love to be around a happy person?
Overall, self-awareness will help you to take the first step in living a fuller life as a DJ/producer in dance music.
If you are feeling inspired or even a little curious about how implementing self-awareness can transform your dance music career then why not join our FREE wellness masterclass on Monday 6th September 2021. Led by holistic nightlife coach Eline Van Audenaerde (The Captain!), you’ll uncover the fundamentals of adopting a growth mindset to better your career, what procrastination is and why us creatives often do it. As well as some practical activities to get you thinking about your wellness in dance music. Sign up here!