Practice Makes Progress.

Practice. It’s something we’ve been taught from a young age, whether learning a new skill, playing a sport or trying to improve in some aspect of our life. Homework in school is practice. Experimenting in the kitchen is practice. Working on our skills with an instrument or a ball is practice. They are all ways we were taught the importance of practice.

Then we reach a point in life where we stop talking about practice and expect people to have knowledge, or even mastery. We hire people who are qualified for the job. We award certifications and degrees to people who have demonstrated knowledge and experience. We give people a quick training or orientation and then send them off to perform. And we quickly expect them to be good at whatever project or assignment or position we’ve given them. What happened to all that focus on practice? Did we decide we were all practiced up and could be done with the practice portion of life? While it can feel like that in many environments, I am learning how to make practice a priority every day.

I started a new job this year, right in the middle of COVID, and became a certified coach, and well, I have practiced a lot these last six months. I have practiced not knowing things, I have practiced asking questions and having a beginner's mindset, I have practiced building relationships, I have practiced doing it wrong and learning a better way and I have practiced trusting myself to figure it out. I could keep going but I think you get my point, which is that I am learning and growing through practice.

Here is the thing that I have learned from refocusing on practice - practice is about exploring, being curious, being willing to change, being willing to fail and being willing to make progress. Growing up, the phrase often used was 'practice makes perfect', and as I continue to figure out how to embrace learning and failing and getting back up, I am learning that it should really be 'practice makes progress'. Because when we practice something, we advance our skills with it. And, letting go of perfect and embracing progress allows us to learn, adapt, pause and practice our way to our goals.

What are you willing to start practicing right now?