Harvesting Beginner's Luck when Strumming Guitar

As Seth Godin pointed out in his book, "The Dip," there are people out there who find tons of different projects to keep them busy so they might be able to avoid responsibility. Perhaps you know people like this. These are the people who are constantly finding one thing after another to keep their attention on, but no project ever gets finished. I think this is because of beginner's luck. When I start something new, I feel a surge of energy because it's so easy. It's fun to start something new. Sooner or later though, the project/skill/whatever gets harder.

Strumming faster rhythms can be a difficult thing to master in guitar, especially if you have some sort of tension in your shoulders, arms, or wrist. When practicing faster strumming, you can harvest beginner's luck to make it work for you eventually. Here's how:

1. Strum the pattern that you are having trouble with, and up to the tempo you want.
2. Whenever you get to the point of too much tension, STOP.
3. Shake out the arm, wrist, anything, and do not start until the tension is GONE.
4. Repeat steps 1-3.

Doing this sort of thing helps you quit what is not working (tension) and have beginner's luck every time you start up again.