The article, “The Myth of ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ ”, discusses the idea of deliberate practice, “a constant sense of self-evaluation, of focusing on one’s weaknesses, rather than simply fooling around and playing to one’s strengths”. In short, the idea of spending hours and hours practicing, be it a sport or an instrument, may allow for improvement. A more focused approach that pays more attention to detail allows for greater success.
This article grabbed my attention in many ways and has led me to re-think my expectations of a practice. For many years, I have lived by a motto of “perfect practice makes perfect” (I even had it printed on a shirt). The idea behind the motto is simple. Anybody can come and practice. They can get wet, they can swim the sets and they can get stronger. But there is more to practice than that. There must be a focus on weaknesses and technique throughout. There are many who believe that a successful practice must have a high amount of yardage at elevated heart rates. I agree that type of practice is a successful practice. However, this type of practicing should be interspersed with more thoughtful practices and sets.
