Perfect Practice

Nearly everyone is familiar with the phrase 'practice makes perfect.'  And most of us accept it as having a high level of truth.  I learned differently when my daughter turned me into a 'sports mom.'  Basketball and track were her particular talents and she was blessed to have inspiring and wise coaches in both.  One of them introduced us to the upgraded version of practice makes perfect: "PERFECT practice makes perfect" (Vince Lombardi).

It is easy to see how this applies to sports.  Imagine a basketball player at the free throw line.  They do not just practice 50 or 100 free throws.  They practice a perfectly executed free throw.  The point is to so ingrain the mechanics of the perfect free throw, that it will be natural and easy when the game is on the line.

More importantly, "Perfect practice makes perfect" applies to the game of life and to each and every human being.  Human beings are always practicing.  Every moment of every day. Why?  Because the essential nature of human beings is evolution.  We are designed for learning and growth and expansion.  Every time we do something there is a result.  This is life giving us feedback.

This was true when we were one year olds learning to walk and it is true today.  Every step that resulted in a butt flop taught us something that eventually made us good walkers.  The reason babies and children learn so fast is that they naturally assimilate feedback.  Most adults have lost this natural attention to results and feedback. 

Human beings who are living consciously notice the feedback and use it to create something better: a healthier way of living, a kinder way of interacting with others, a more loving method of parenting, etc., a more productive work approach.  This is the process of perfect practice.  We act, life gives us feedback, we consider this new information, make an adjustment, and then go out and practice it.

Contrast this to the unconscious life in which people pay no attention to the feedback that life is giving them, or refuse to acknowledge that what is consistently showing up in their life is a direct result of their actions.  Inevitably these are the people who are continuously frustrated, annoyed, disgruntled, upset and angry.  These are the people who are stuck in 'practice makes perfect' mode.  They keep doing the same things (that are not working for them), and have perfected their dysfunctional behaviors.  

And of course, even those of us who are living more consciously have areas in our life where we do the same dysfunctional dance.  If you want to locate these areas in your life (so that you can make adjustments), just begin to notice those moments where you feel easily annoyed, frustrated or upset.  When you are easily triggered, it is a sign that you are bumping up against some behavior that you have practiced over and over again without noticing that it is not working for you.

No two basketball players shoot their foul shots the same way.  Each has to develop the perfect mechanics that work for them. So it is with practicing human beings.  It is your job to practice each day as perfectly as you can, and then use the feedback that life gives you to continue evolving your practice. What you will find is that perfection is not a destination, but a journey. A beautiful, creative, joyful journey toward the most expanded version of you that you can imagine.