The Art of Practice
I'm basking in the high from presenting my workshop on Goal Setting this past week. The essence of the workshop focused on What and Why you want your Goals- and then anchoring with HOW you set your goals into motion.
And the overarching principle in HOW to set your goals in motion is applying the Art of PRACTICE. The concept is so simple. And the application of practice by design seems so elementary, I mean it's what we tell our own children every day. 'If you want to get better at X or Y, you need to....PRACTICE.'
Yet despite it's brilliant simplicity, it can be a bit hard to put the Art of Practice into motion. And I think I know why. Because we need practice in bringing in the Art of Practice in our life.
How Does the Art of Practice Look?
For me, it's getting the practice of X into my life on a daily basis. Yes, a daily basis. Because that's really where you will feel and live into your desired outcome- as if it's already happening.
So during my workshop- I shared with the group one of my Career Goals which is to create and present amazing presentations. So bringing the practice of practicing this goal into my life on a daily basis had me set a weekly goal to practice my upcoming workshop every day this week.
And what that looked like was carving time out each day to literally practice my entire workshop, as though I was presenting it to a real audience. And the picture below is my 'audience' in my office- Brown Bear and American Girl Doll were particularly enthralled with the experience.
And what I'm learning and feeling is the Art of Practice takes continual practice. It's a process, a way, a continual evolution on how it looks in my life. It's art that I'm willing to practice :) How about you? How do you bring the Art of Practice into an area of your life? Would love to know.
Comments
But now I have started swimming lessons a couple of months back and I am getting better at better at the strokes and perfecting my technique and at the same time eliminating my fear of water. It takes time to master a skill which is why I make it a point to go everyday to the swimming pool where I have enlisted the services of personal coach.
After 2 months, I still dread going to the pool every morning because every day the instructor puts me into an uncomfortable situation - especially in the deep end of the pool. But at the end of the session, I usually come out feeling refreshed and positive. Daily practice of any skill dispels fear and makes you better at it.
Feeling uncomfortable about learning a new skill is natural but it is only when one is pushed into the unknown that one grows. I am now visualizing the day when I can feel like a fish gliding through the water and I know that with daily practice that day is not far off!