Alas, the cello is NOT a saxophone...some helpful drivel for cellists...

Please, O please, I beg:  just listen.  One mustn't expect the poor cellist to saw his/her instrument in half.  No matter what, it will never be a trombone, a bombarde, a biniou, an amplified Javanese gamelan, a Cadillac's horn, the din of a Steinway being dropped from the 7th-and-a-half floor of the Merton-Flemming Building onto the sidewalk below.  Please, O Please, I beg:  just remove the wax from your ears and have mercy on the magic of the sound of the cello and do not expect to hear or see a herd of elephants.  Our bodies will thank you, and we will happily play for you much more beautifully all day long or as long as you wish, as it is much more of a natural phenomenon to cradle and caress rather than squeeze and smother.  Pure love distilled through pure, unadulterated (and even at times forceful), natural movement, all the while enjoying the dance and the oneness that is created when this phenomenon is achieved.  Competition is for athletes, not artists, and the cello is not a 500kg barbell that we have made it over the last couple of generations. 

Cellists, be smart, and follow your musical and artistic instincts - not your less noble competitive urges.  It is not a video game or a 100-yard dash.  Elfentanz will lose its charm, and Bach played out of a textbook becomes a sterile exercise in non-expressive futility.  Be honest with yourselves, use common sense, establish sensible parameters (or an appropriate "canvas," if you desire a visual-art metaphor), and start slowly and gently.  That will guide you to your destination much more enjoyably, and yes, efficiently. 

Love and respect every minute of the journey, and keep it all in perspective, even if you feel you haven't found your voice.  It is there, and you may have to "pry your lid" off more persistently than others, but you must trust that it is there.

OK -- that's my pep talk for myself every day.  I suspect it might be helpful to other cellists who struggle with self-improvement, too.