Perfect Practice Makes Perfect (Part 1)

Practice does not make perfect.

Growing up, I spent every spare minute in musical theatre: singing, dancing, acting; classes in voice, dance, drama. Practice, practice, practice. Whether theater or sports or math, “practice makes perfect,” right?

Well … no. As legendary coach Vince Lombardi said, “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” Hard work itself doesn’t bring the win, because you could be working hard at the wrong things. What brings success—in activities and in life—is working on and practicing the right things over and over and over. That goes for music, football, yoga, studying foreign languages, cooking … and living a life of joy instead of anxiety, discouragement, or stress.

Why? Studies show that doing something repeatedly forms neural pathways in the brain. The more we do it, the stronger and deeper those neural pathways become—it’s like a new flow of water finding a path over the land, which then becomes a little rut, which eventually becomes a gully. Absent an interruption, that path becomes the default course.

Our thought patterns form pathways, too—both positive and negative ones. We want to feel joy, peace, and delight, but we aren’t always “practicing” the daily habits that lead to that.