Practice as a noun
Mar 08, 2021
You may have noticed that we keep talking about practice.
When people ask for "tips, tricks and strategies" to do anything or overcome challenges, my answer is the same: I don’t have any tips, tricks or strategies. I do have practices that work for me. Practices that when I do them, things work better and when I fall off, am inconsistent or stop doing the practices, things go back to the way they were.
Practices. It is one of the key words in my model of the world.
When I recently stumbled upon George Leonard’s description of the word practice, therefore, I was very interested.
He describes practice as a noun (rather than a verb).
"A practice (as a noun) can be anything you practice on a regular basis as an integral part of your life—not in order to gain something else, but for its own sake... For a master, the rewards gained along the way are fine, but they are not the main reason for the journey. Ultimately, the master and the master’s path are one. And if the traveler is fortunate—that is, if the path is complex and profound enough—the destination is two miles farther away for every mile he or she travels."
Wow. Brilliant and inspiring.
Do we (really) practice anything? Let alone HAVE a practice?
If we intend to be a master of our lives—in our self-development, our intimate and professional relationships, our work, our hobbies, our spirituality —we need to practice the skills inherent to mastering that subject AND make that practice a practice.
A practice. Something that you do. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Practice as a noun. It’s a powerful concept.
