Practice is vital for virtually everything in life. If you are trying to break a 4 minute mile, bench press 300 pounds, or attempt some other equally impressive task, then you are no doubt aware of the training necessary to reach your goals. However, if you are simply trying to learn something new like cooking food that is edible or writing less cheesy blog posts, practice is still a fundamental key to getting it done.
Don’t be afraid of failure – everyone sucks at first. Think about it. At one point in his life, Lance Armstrong couldn’t ride a bike. He was just a bumbly kid who probably skinned his knees when he first tried to ride without training wheels. It just so happened that he practiced. A lot. Until he mastered his skill and became a world champion at it.
Often times I get really frustrated when I start something new. Even when I know that it’s going to require time to build a proficiency at whatever I’m doing, I inevitably go through a phase when I ask myself “What am I doing here?. I don’t have any business attempting this.” Usually, if I can talk myself into seeing it through, I come away with a new appreciation for the task even if I never get to the point of “mastering” it.
Fitness was no exception. Changing my diet and daily routines around a vague goal of “getting in shape” was difficult and frustrating at times. I didn’t know how to eat right and I certainly wasn’t naturally gifted at running. When I first started out, I often ate things that aligned with my sense of what was “healthy” when, in fact, they were far from it (it seems that soaking a salad in ranch dressing and bacon takes away some of the caloric benefits). Also, my wife insisted that I was “bouncing too much” when I jogged. I didn’t even know that you could bounce too much when you jogged. Apparently, if there was a way to mess something up, I could find it.
However, simply by staying the course I was giving myself ample practice at the very things that would grant me success later down the road.
The Progression of Practice:
Familiarity – The more times you attempt something, the more comfortable you are with the process. As with jogging, my gait was horrible at first. I often experienced shinsplints and apparently I had a “bouncing” problem. Nevertheless, just being on the road in my running shoes became more and more comfortable for me whether I was good at it or not.
Improvement – Eventually, though, I did improve. I was able to increase my distance from 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile to 26.2 miles. No magic bullet here. Just slight improvements in performance over time.
Confidence – With increased improvement, I was naturally more confident. I soon began competing in races… and I didn’t collapse! No one could even tell what a screw up I was when I first started. This led to more races which led to increased confidence which eventually led to…
Success – Over time, and with considerable work, I was able to call myself a runner. Not only a runner, but a marathoner. Am I perfectly content with my abilities now? Of course not. In some ways I’m just getting started. But in every aspect of life, whenever I want to try something new, I own up to the fact that it’s going to be frustrating and I am going to stink at it… at first.
(photo by JessicaRabbit)
