Everyone needs a practice to get the most out of themselves and the most out of their lives. Do you have a practice?
Something that you care deeply about? Something that you want to master? Something that you get lost in for hours on end? Something that you do every day, no matter what? Something that fulfils you?
Unfortunately, many people don’t. They’ve traded what’s important for an unfulfilling career, and waste their free time with shallow and fleeting distractions.
In essence, they’ve lost touch with that which gives them life.
People with a practice have a unique energy about them. Through daily immersion they’ve built focus, skill, confidence, energy and purpose. By continuing to show up, they’ve transformed themselves.
They have good days and bad days just like everyone else, but they have this pursuit to return to, time and time again, which grounds them, cultivates their abilities and helps them to understand themselves better.
Jon Kabat-Zinn has a practice. Steph Curry has a practice. Seth Godin has a practice. Warren Buffet has a practice.
Everyone needs a practice.
How to build a powerful practice
A practice can be anything that you care deeply about and want to master. It could be writing, music, design, cookery, BJJ, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, or investing.
What matters is the intention, the effort and the consistency you apply to it. It’s more than a hobby, it’s a way of life.
Here are my tips on how to build and maintain a powerful practice:
1. Do something you care about. The best kind of practice is one that you truly care about. It’s something you love doing, have a deep curiosity about and want to master. It should pose a challenge but by doing it, it will change your life and possibly those around you.
2. Do it daily. A practice is something that you do every day. You show up, if you feel like it or not, and you do the work. This helps to form the habit but even more than that, it builds a deep connection.
3. Bring your full self to it. When it’s time to practice, go all in. Remove any and all distractions and commit to it fully. Regular meditation helps to improve your focus and awareness, and makes it easier to attain immersion.
4. Find support. If this means the world to you but nothing to those around you, there will always be obstacles and distractions for you to overcome. Surround yourself with people who have a similar interest and support each other as you grow together.
5. Go deep. The more you study and the more you execute, the more it becomes you. Read, listen, work with coaches, and learn every detail that you can. Soak it up until it flows through your veins.
6. Boring is OK. From the outside, your practice will look dull and repetitive, but you know better. You know that basic and un-inspiring things repeated often enough can result in remarkable feats. Relish the simplicity.
7. Let it to transform you. A great practice has the power to transform you, every time that you do it. Find that flow state and embrace the many changes that take place over the weeks, months and years.
8. Elevate it to an art form. Anything can be artistic if you choose to make it so. Apply passion, finesse, creativity, innovation, and playfulness to your practice and over time it will become something truly special.
9. Be fearless, but be prepared. There might come a time when you think: “You know what, I want to do this for a living!” Lots of people have those kinds of ideas, but few manage to make the transition. Be brave and take the leap if you want but make sure you truly understand what’s required to sustain a career at it.
Not everyone will be able to forge a profession out of their practice but that’s ok. It runs far deeper than that. Do it everyday and it will change your life in many ways.
The more you give to your practice, the more it will return to you.