Practice Makes Perfect

Actually – Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

The adjusted version (above) was my daughter’s piano teacher’s way of saying – simply running through a practice without working at getting everything right will just train you to do it incorrectly…

In other words … how we practice something is just as important as finding the time to practice in the first place.

This got me thinking about how each of the different activities I’m involved in puts a demand on my time. Not only to improve skills, but also just to maintain them.

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Some is probably better than none

There’s no denying … Those at the top of the game practice a whole lot just to maintain their skill level. They practice even more to improve it. Sometimes to the exclusion of everything else.

Then you have the other end of the spectrum … the person that believes they don’t need to practice, that they can put out no effort at all and still be on top of their game. ((And I’m always amused when these people wonder why they fall behind and lose their edge))

I think it’s pretty clear that each of us needs to take at least some effort to practice our skills.

Coaching

A good coach is invaluable.

Not only do they help motivate us, but a good coach will carefully watch what an individual has been doing and how they do it. They’ll process this and be able to describe what needs to happen to practice better as well as advise on critical changes for skill improvement.

The coach is an objective observer.

Nay Sayers

Then there are those people we come in contact with everyday that are .. let’s just say “less than helpful”. You know the ones I mean. The ones that discourage, that deride and scoff at our efforts to practice and improve.

Intentional or not, their negativity will drag you down … it’ll throw you off your game. Their comments and attitude can cause you to practice poorly .. or worse yet, poison your attitude  And in that condition you might just give up and let your skills wither on your own.

Attitude for Altitude

So lets see …

• Some practice is better than no practice.
• Practicing smarter is better than going through the motions of practicing.
• Letting others’ negativity influence you can undermine any practice.
• A good coach can help with all of the above.

Who knows – a little more practice and you might be ready for the next level!-)