COME BACK TO YOUR SONG
- Derek Hagen
- Jun 12, 2025
- 2 min read
❝Master your instrument, master the music, and then forget all that and just play.❞ -Charlie Parker
We all try to plan our lives. But life doesn’t always follow the script.
Sometimes things don’t go as expected. A job changes. A relationship shifts. A plan unravels. And in those moments, the goal isn’t to stick stubbornly to the plan—it’s to remember your song.
LIFE GIVES YOU THEMES
Life doesn’t hand us note-by-note instructions. It hands us themes—values, memories, lessons, and experiences that shape who we are and what matters to us.
Once we know our themes—our “song”—we can move with more confidence. Even when life throws something new at us, we can respond, not react.
Improvisation isn’t chaos. Musicians improvise within the song. They don’t toss it out—they trust it will catch them when they leap.
Your habits, your routines, your purpose—they’re the structure. They’re what you come back to when life throws a curveball.
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Resilience is the ability to bounce back (or grow) from stress and adversity. The ability to maintain physical, mental, and emotional well-being in the face of setbacks. Learn more about how resilient you are. |
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DIFFERENT WAYS OF RESPONDING
When life throws something unexpected, there are different ways to react.
Some try to control it.
Others walk away.
But some pause, reflect, and respond with intention. This way—the reflective, adaptive path—is how we improvise while still staying true to ourselves.
You don't have to know every note. You just have to know your song.
If you know what matters to you, you don’t need to predict everything that’s coming. You can move through uncertainty with a sense of rhythm.
You can improvise with purpose.
You get one life; live intentionally.
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REFERENCES AND INFLUENCES
Klontz, Brad, Rick Kahler & Ted Klontz: Facilitating Financial Health
Miller, William: Listening Well
Miller, William & Stephen Rollnick: Motivational Interviewing
Pennebaker, James & Joshua Smyth: Opening Up by Writing It Down
Sofer, Oren Jay: Say What You Mean
Solin, Dan: Ask
