I suppose it’s no surprise that this week I have been thinking a lot about practice. Though we go through our days with our attention on what we are doing, at the same time we are preparing for what is to come in the future or setting the stage for what opportunities may come.
Even though doing our job, running our business, speaking with our friends and family may not feel like practice or preparation… we are both living in and building upon at the same time.
This is the example that sticks with me the most: professional athletes play season after season of the game that they have chose to spend their life on. Yes, in each game they are doing their best to win while at the same time each game is an opportunity to learn on how to also be a better performer. It’s not simply taking the act, it’s being able to learn from that experience to make the next that much better.
Some quotes that I feel add to this:
“We learn by practice. Whether it means learning to dance by dancing or to learn to live by living, the principles are the same.”
-Martha Graham
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”
-Stephen McCranie
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
-Confucius
Give your all to your game, while also knowing that we can always use what happened as an opportunity to learn and improve for the next go around.
Here’s to the practice,
Tom
