The Value of Practice

The Value of Practice

So often, when I’m in a coaching conversation with a client, they’ll make a statement something like this: “I wish I was better at ________”.

I mean really, you can fill in the blank from your own life I’m sure. Better at being a loving partner, better at being a good leader, better at caring less what other people think of me, better at being organized, better at sticking to my commitments… There’s no shortage of things we’d like to be better at.

And when I hear these statements, sometimes the question I ask is “What’s something you might do in order to get better?”

And that’s where the “P” word can show up.
“P” in this case stands for PRACTICE.

How do we get better at playing scales on the piano? We practice.
How do we improve our golf game? We practice.
How do we learn our lines in a play? We practice.
How do we get really good at parallel parking? We practice.
How do we get better at turning out that perfect chocolate cake? We practice.

We accept that practice is a part of these things; piano, golf, a performance, parking, baking.
And yet we do not automatically think of PRACTICING as a means to an end when it comes to other less tangible aspects of our development.

I’m not sure why we don’t consider PRACTICING as a viable solution, but I find that once we land on it as at the very least, worth considering, progress occurs. Change happens. And we witness ourselves making slight and sometimes huge improvements in being that better leader, or being better organized, at caring less about what others think of us…

So, next time you observe yourself saying you wished you were better at something, try practicing that something. Really, what have you got to lose?