I have a confession: I wasn’t going to write today. Writing has been a frustration and a struggle lately, and I was just going to take a break today and head straight to work. But then my eyes landed on a few of my projects scattered here and there. Some lying on my project/sewing table over there in the corner. Some stored in their various bags to keep all of the supplies for each one consolidated and ready for me to just pick up where I left off.
Then as my daughter came in for a hug before heading out to work, I noticed the sweater she was wearing. It was her first major knitting project, finished years ago with much excitement. And it’s beautiful. A long, cable knit cardigan in variegated green (my favorite color). I thought about how long she had been knitting before she made that sweater, how proud we all were of her accomplishment at the time, and how far she has come in her various skills since then.
All of these images came crashing down into a single word of reminder: practice.
While it is true that we each have skills we are more naturally inclined toward, none of them find their fullness without practice. I frequently hear the words, “Oh, I could never ____ like that.” Sometimes it’s related to my daughter’s knitting and crocheting. Other times to my son’s guitar playing or my other daughter’s jewelry making. It’s always blamed on lacking patience or dexterity or some other seemingly inborn skill.
But really, it comes down to a desire — or lack thereof — to put in the time to practice.
Again, we’re all designed differently, with different creative inclinations. The guitar technique that came easily to my musically-inclined son will never come easily to me. I would have to practice a whole lot more than he does to be even remotely competent at the guitar, while he practices to be very good at it. I have to weigh whether or not that is a worthwhile expenditure of my time. While it would be very, very, very useful for me to know how to play guitar, I don’t know if I have enough time to invest to be competent.
Even so, if I practiced, I’d get there. Practice doesn’t mean perfection. It doesn’t even always means success. It just means that we put targeted effort into growing skills intentionally, knowing that personal growth comes as much from the process as from reaching some vague goal.
Some day I might get back to practicing guitar, just for my own musical pleasure. For now, I practice things I am more inclined toward, including writing. And that thought is what motivated me to change my plans this morning. To go ahead and sit down and write.
On Fridays, I’ve been posting tool box ideas. My first tool box post identified people as a universal tool for any tool box. I think practice might be the second universal tool. Whether it’s for a hobby or a life skill, whether it fits a professional or interpersonal need or any other aspect of life, practice should become a habit. Something we choose to do whether we want to or not.
So here you go. Today’s practice for me — sitting down to write. What can you practice today?
