“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”
~ Vince Lombardi
This morning, as I was driving to the Geauga County YMCA in the pouring rain, Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z came on the radio singing their new song “Suit & Tie”. When it first came on, I recognized it was a Jay-Z song, but I had to use an app on my phone called Shazam to find out that it was Justin singing on the track too.
Before I knew it, I felt like my car was sliding – and it was! The rain was cold and icy, and the roads were slippery. That is kind of a normal thing for the end of February in Geauga County; but it’s ok, I’ve felt my tires slide many times before. I carefully corrected my course, and in just a moment, I was back on track, driving along through the dark wet countryside.
You see, I’ve practiced driving before. Many, many times before, in fact. If I had to guess, I’ve probably driven way over 10,000 hours and over a half million miles since I got my license years ago. So when something like my tires sliding occurs, I know what to do instinctively. I think a lot about driving these days because my youngest brother will be getting his license in just a few short weeks, and I remember how exciting that was for me years ago. The freedom to come and go as we please is something we forget about in the middle stretch of our life, and we often take it for granted.
One of the other things that I often forget is how much practice it takes to perfect a skill or habit. As I remember the song I was just listening to, I am reminded of the hours and hours that both artists have spent practicing, honing their craft, and trying and failing. Whether or not you care for their style of music, you can’t deny their longevity and success as musicians and performers. Over the past two decades, Jay-Z has put out 16 albums and both Justin and Jay-Z have been featured on countless singles. That success doesn’t come overnight or by accident. It comes by practicing and practicing and practicing, even when you don’t want to practice anymore.
In our digital age, there are so many things we can acquire and achieve with the click of a button. I love technology. Unfortunately, that may at times lead us to believe that we can also achieve the important goals in our lives with a single click.
In our digital age, there are so many things we can acquire and achieve with the click of a button. I love technology. Unfortunately, that may at times lead us to believe that we can also achieve the important goals in our lives with a single click. Unfortunately or fortunately, however you look at it, that is not true. In order to achieve success and achieve our goals, we must practice for hours and hours. We must not only practice proactive actions that help us reach out goals, but we must also practice disciplined thought. Recognizing opportunities, learning how our mind and body responds to different environments, and learning about how others around us affect our success or failure are all thought skills that also take practice. Lots and lots of practice.
The good news is that we each have the power to control how successful we will be. We each have the ability to choose to practice our craft one more time. We have the ability to get up and try again. You are probably like me and can drive a car without much effort at all. Sometimes we reach our destination and don’t recall the specifics of how we got there. That’s because, after years of practice, we become unconsciously competent as drivers. We don’t have to think about it. All the years of practice have paid off. We are (hopefully) good drivers by the time we reach our thirties.
So what does perfect practice look like? I’m not sure what your goals are, but I do know the first most important thing you must do is get up and try again. Just take the first step. Take the first action no matter how small it is. Practice starting and practice action. I don’t want you to give up. I want you to succeed, so please keep trying. In the end it will be worth it.
What does perfect practice look like to you? How do you practice the things that are important to you? Share your ideas in the comments below.
