There is a goal I attempt to achieve at every rehearsal I conduct. I call it the Five L’s, which stand for Listen, Labor, Learn, Laugh and Love. At the conclusion of a rehearsal, it is my goal that all participants (including myself) will have experienced each of these five actions to some degree. 

We listen – to the music and to each other. 

We labor – working together for a shared purpose brings enormous satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. 

We learn – listening and working together will almost always lead to learning something new. 

We laugh – I believe a rehearsal without laughter is an opportunity lost. 

We love – of course, we should certainly make every effort to love the music we are rehearsing, but I think it is also important to love and care for each other.
I think if we keep the Five L’s at the front of our minds when we enter the rehearsal and recognize that each of these words is an action verb, we will depart the rehearsal with a recognition that the time we’ve spent together has been worthwhile and important.