Practice Makes Perfect

“Remember you become what you practice most” – Richard Carlson

Repeated practice is one of the most basic principles of most successful activities, whether they are physical, emotional or spiritual. In other words, whatever you practice is what you become. When it comes to physical activity it is much easier to see the tangible products of our practice (or lack thereof), such as improved cardio-fitness etc. However, we may not always be conscious of how this applies to the cognitive and behavioural sides of the equation. For example, if you are in the habit of being uptight when life isn’t quite right, allowing your thinking to snowball in response to adversity or acting like life is an emergency, then unfortunately your life will be a reflection of this type of practice. You will be frustrated because, in a sense, you have practiced being frustrated! So it is immensely helpful to become conscious of your own habits, both internal and external by honestly answering a couple of simple questions. Where is my attention? How do I spend my time? Am I cultivating habits that are helpful to my goals? Is what I say I want my life to stand for consistent with what my life really stands for? If you remember that what you practice you will become, you may begin choosing different types of practice.