Jesus, You're In Shape!

“Practice without purpose is nothing more than exercise. Too many practice what they’re already good at and neglect the skills that need more work. It’s pleasant to repeat the things we do well, while it’s frustrating to deal with repeated failures.” | Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life

Not all practice makes perfect. Deliberate practice is what develops expertise. This type of practice is different. It’s messy, hard, and sucks — filling us with doubt, uncertainty, and, on occasion, pure rage. So it’s usually avoided.

However, training that might not work is the most productive training there is. Few can handle the intense physical and emotional strain of deliberate practice. It takes a rare breed who can sustain efforts to do something they cannot do well — or at all. In sport, we call this breed winners.

“To get fit, we have to be willing, at times, to get in over our head and flirt with that fine line between training too much and just enough. The truth is this — the results we get come from hard work more than anything else.” | Frank Shorter, Olympic Gold: A Runner’s Life and Times

Thanks for reading. I'm glad you're here. | jm