Practice and Practice and Practice Makes Perfect

I started taking piano lessons when I was 8 years old. The first thing I learned was how to read the notes on a page and associate those notes to the keys on the piano. Then I learned how to look at the music and pay attention to my fingers at the same time. That sounds like a whole lotta’ coordination is involved, and, yes, it is — eyes, fingers, ears, and a good brain. But as I practiced and practiced and practiced, something remarkable happened. Not only was I able, by instinct, to play what I was seeing, but before long, I even had music memorized and I was able to play by memory. All those lessons and all that practice served me well over the years as I played the piano and organ for our church and for our quartette that itinerated around the U.S. and Canada.

Learning to play the piano takes time, determination, practice and consistency. And that’s the way it is with anything that we want to accomplish in life — whether it be in learning to cook, play an instrument, be good at a sport, dance, or even in being a better husband/wife, parent, friend, employee or neighbor.

Let’s say we really do want to be a caring, giving and generous person. Maybe we’ve been “all about me”, and we’re ready for change. First we get a plan of action (like I had to with learning to read the notes and keys). Every day we think about how we can be more generous to our spouse or neighbor or work associates. Then we determine to carry out that plan (just as I practiced over and over) — we practice by offering to help someone with something they are having to do (i.e., clean out a garage, help an associate with meeting a deadline, help take care of a neighbor’s kids, tutor a child, offer to help at a local charity, etc.) And we keep on practicing those caring and giving habits. All of a sudden…..by instinct — by second nature….we are living out what we put into practice. We become the one that raises our hand when someone asks for help — just instinctively. We can’t even help it — it’s second nature.

Indeed….practice makes perfect in just about everything we hope to excel in — in life — and that holds true to practicing love, harmony, faith, good attitude, consideration for others, and generosity.