No one sets out to be a bad musician. If you’re going to play music, your goal is not just to play, but to play well. You wouldn’t go on stage and bang around on the drums or smash keys on a piano.
There’s a rhyme and reason to how you play. There’s structure. There’s dos and don’ts… if you want to play music well.
Those rules and guidelines might seem restrictive at first. Why do I have to hold my hand that way or play those keys together? It can be uncomfortable and even painful, but that’s what it takes to play well. You need to learn the basics to then be able to build on that foundation and create and play beautiful music. Without that foundation, you’ll sound like a first grader playing the recorder...and no one wants to hear that.
All of this can be said for us as men too. We don’t set out to be bad men, or even average men. Our desire is to be great, to live well. And, in order to live well, there are ‘rules’ that guide us on our path to living well.
What’s this path?
I would argue it’s the path of virtue. Virtues are habits that require practice just like playing the guitar. You start small, learning the basics. It can be uncomfortable, and (again) even painful. But, when those habits become second nature, we’re able to create beautiful music that is a life well lived.