Does Practice Make Perfect?

Nothing comes easy, ever, if you want something, you have to work for it. By working for it I mean work on your craft, learn from people who have something to teach. It’s just like anything else, practice makes perfect ~ James Lafferty

Since we were children, each of us have understood the value of practice. You know what I mean. If you want to get good at reading, piano, singing, football, riding a bike or any other engaged activity, you have to practice.

Practice is defined as the application of a skill repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency.

prac•tice /ˈpraktəs/

Noun
The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method as opposed to theories about such application or use.
Verb
Perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency.
Synonyms
noun. custom – exercise – habit – training – praxis – wontK
verb. practise – exercise – train – drill

Based on that definition I think most people would agree that the highest achievers in any area of life are those who practice the most.

How does this apply to our every day lives?

When you think about your overall quality of life, it’s clear that it is basically made up from an accumulation of moments. In each moment you are experiencing and expending energy in a certain way. Sometimes you are in a optimistic state and other times you downright downbeat; and there of course varying degrees of intensity in between.

Most of the time though we are operating on auto-pilot. What I mean by that is that we are going about our usual kind of day reacting and responding to events based on our habits and how we have conditioned ourselves to be.

For example, if you have spent the majority of our lives on a short fuse, you will have been practicing an anger response when things don’t go your way. You could say that you have become very proficient at being angry.

Likewise, if you have spent the majority of your life looking on the lighter side, reacting with laughter to various events and circumstances, you have become proficient at maintaining an up-beat attitude that radiates positivity.

Either way, you will understand that practice makes perfect.

When it comes to  improving your  life, understanding  this is a great place to start because knowing how to practice is the key to life long change. It works… on all levels.

How do you do this?

Your first step is to start by doing a basic assessment of your emotional responses. For instance:

• Are you constantly in a state of stress or anxiety?
• Do you constantly feel frustrated or upset?
• Do you expect the worst to happen?

For any result that is either not positive, or not getting you the result you really want, examine what you have been practicing in that area of your life.

If your current result is that you get angry and upset whenever the slightest thing goes wrong, maybe its time to start asking yourself some empowering questions about how you can actively change that result.  It’s a simple idea, so now ask yourself:

• What would it take for me to respond in a different way?
• What do I need to know, do or have?
• What inner resources do I need to develop?
• What would be the best result of my change in behaviour?
• How will that benefit me and those I care for?

Once you understand the new attitudes and behaviours you want to cultivate, you are in the refreshing position to begin to gather up, apply and practice with new resources. You may even have fun with this by actively looking for the next “opportunity” for something to go wrong so that you can practice a new response.

Practice and patience are key, core success skills worth cultivating ~ Maya Mendoza

Just like learning an instrument or sport, it’s not likely to be smooth sailing form the get go, however it is a start. Once you know how you prefer to respond then you can choose to self correct – do the new behaviour or restate the new thought again and again and you will find that each repetition makes you stronger.

It takes between 21 and 30 days to develop a new habit  so with application, in a relatively short period of time, you can develop an entirely new skill set that serves you better and improves the overall quality of your life.

Try it. Challenge yourself. Observe and see how your results change over time.

What do you think?

We would love to hear your tips and stories about how you have changed your habitual behavior for a better outcome,  or manifested something into your life?

As always, your interaction with our posts creates a reservoir of wisdom for all our readers to benefit from so please share your thoughts, stories and questions in the comments box below and remember to tweet, like and +1 ~ thanks, its appreciated.

 

Additional Resources:
How To Manifest Intentions Without Resistance
What Is Emotional Fitness & Why Do You Need It?