“Two simple rules: (1) You get better at what you practice. (2) Everything is practice. Look around and you may be surprised by what people are “practicing” each day. If you consider each moment a repetition, what are most people training for all day long? Many people are practicing getting mad on social media. Others are practicing the fine art of noticing how they have been wronged. Still more have mastered the craft of making plans (but never following through). But, of course, it doesn’t have to be that way. What are you practicing?”
James Clear
“[Darrell’s] position was: dreams are built on discipline; discipline is built on habits; habits are built on training. And training takes place in every single second and every situation of your life: how you wash the dishes; how you drive a car; how you present a report at school or at work. You either do your best all the time or you don’t; if the behaviors has not been trained and practiced, then the switch will not be there when you need it.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 302)
“To tell the truth is the same as to be a good tailor, or to be a good farmer, or to write beautifully. To be good at any activity requires practice: no matter how hard you try, you cannot do naturally what you have not done repeatedly. In order to get accustomed to speaking the truth, you should tell only the truth, even in the smallest of things.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 67)
“One of the hallmarks of the martial arts, military training, and athletic training of almost any kind is the hours upon hours upon hours of monotonous practice. An athlete at the highest level will train for years to perform movements that can last mere seconds—or less. The two-minute drill, how to escape from a chokehold, the perfect jumper. Simply knowing isn’t enough. It must be absorbed into the muscles and the body. It must become part of us. Or we risk losing it the second that we experience stress or difficulty.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 153)
“Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable, and that’s exactly the opposite of what deliberate practice demands… Deliberate practice is above all an effort of focus and concentration. That is what makes it ‘deliberate,’ as distinct from the mindless playing of scales or hitting of tennis balls that most people engage in.”
Geoff Colvin, via So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Page 96)
“I read an article a few years ago that said when you practice a sport a lot, you literally become a broadband: the nerve pathway in your brain contains a lot more information. As soon as you stop practicing, the pathway begins shrinking back down. Reading that changed my life. I used to wonder, Why am I doing these sets, getting on a stage? Don’t I know how to do this already? The answer is no. You must keep doing it. The broadband starts to narrow the moment you stop.”
Jerrry Seinfeld, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 162)
Bill Bradley – How He Went From Slow and Gawky to the New York Knicks [Excerpt]
Excerpt: Bill Bradley was slow and gawky, and could not jump very high. Yet he went on to become an All-American at Princeton and a pro with the NY Knicks. How?
Read More »Bill Bradley – How He Went From Slow and Gawky to the New York Knicks [Excerpt]
“In essence, when you practice and develop any skill you transform yourself in the process. You reveal to yourself new capabilities that were previously latent, that are exposed as you progress. You develop emotionally. Your sense of pleasure becomes redefined. What offers immediate pleasure comes to seem like a distraction, an empty entertainment to help pass the time. Real pleasure comes from overcoming challenges, feeling confidence in your abilities, gaining fluency in skills, and experiencing the power this brings. You develop patience. Boredom no longer signals the need for distraction, but rather the need for new challenges to conquer.” ~ Robert Greene, Mastery
“I read an article a few years ago that said when you practice a sport a lot, you literally become a broadband: the nerve pathway in your brain contains a lot more information. As soon as you stop practicing, the pathway begins shrinking back down. Reading that changed my life. I used to wonder, Why am I doing these sets, getting on a stage? Don’t I know how to do this already? The answer is no. You must keep doing it. The broadband starts to narrow the moment you stop.” ~ Jerry Seinfeld
“One way to develop faith and confidence is simply to practice using it. If I were to ask you whether you’re confident that you can tie your own shoes, I’m sure you could tell me with perfect confidence that you can. Why? Only because you’ve done it thousands of times! So practice confidence by using it consistently, and you’ll be amazed at the dividends it reaps in every area of your life.” ~ Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within
“Remember: courage, unused, diminishes. Commitment, unexercised, wanes. Love, unshared, dissipates.” ~ Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within