Practicing Your Scales
The path to change.
You’ve heard the expressions. Repetition builds character. Practice makes perfect. If you fail to plan then you plan to fail. And more. It’s hard to escape some cliches. However, when it comes to building a habit or getting better at something, the cliches are true. This next quote on practice works best…
“What do you do everyday that’s the equivalent of a musician practicing their scales?
This quote from economist and author Tyler Cowen .
Scales in music are a collection of notes played one after another following a set pattern of intervals.
A musician spends a lot of time learning scales in order to play well. John Mayer. Jimi Hendrix. [Insert musician/entertainer here]. It becomes part of who they are and they don’t sacrifice practicing their scales. Just as repetition builds character or practice makes perfect. What you do everyday determines if you will get better or not.
Practicing your math each day. Your speech in front of a mirror. The language you’re trying to learn. The podcast you want to record. That carrot cake recipe. Being a kinder parent.
If you’re an athlete, your jump shot. Your swing. Catching the ball. Or getting faster.
It’s astounding that we don’t practice and then complain at the lack of results. Kobe Bryant practiced. Why aren’t you? [Insert name here] and they practiced. It starts off to get better and become prolific. Then it becomes about preparation. Making sure your tools are sharp.
In a separate blog post I wrote about Incrementalism:
What you do in increments has huge advantages. That is a great place to start. James Clear in his best selling book Atomic Habits references this often. Starting, staying consistent over time where you start and building more from there.
Thought Provoking Question 1 : What scales are you practicing and in what?
Dan Roman is a Husband, Father, and writer that releases a daily blog. A quick read on sharing wisdom and asking though-provoking questions.
What are your thoughts on this piece? Comment below…
Living in the moment without thinking of the next thing I have to do.