What Does Practice Make?

Everything is practice.

That’s the theme of this era of my life.

Practice showing up.

Practice being a leader.

Practice being accountable.

Practice self-compassion.

Practice self-love.

Practice regulating my nervous system.

Practice speaking up for myself.

Practice expressing my needs.

Practice detachment.

Practice letting go.

Practice trusting myself.

Practice trusting the universe.

Practice saying no when I want to say no.

Practice saying yes to things I want even if I feel scared.

Practice doing the thing.

It’s all practice, and practice makes perfect.

Except perfect sounds exhausting. And honestly, I call bullshit. When is anyone actually perfect? And is perfection really what we want? Is perfect even authentic? I don’t think it is, and I value authenticity much more than perfection.

When is anyone actually perfect and is perfection really what we want? Is perfect even authentic? I don’t think it is, and I value authenticity much more than perfection.

For me, the idea of perfection becomes another reason not to begin. I get stuck in believing I have to know exactly what I’m doing before I can show up. I have to be confident before I can lead. I have to stop being afraid before I can do the thing that scares me. I have to have the whole plan figured out before I can start.

Then I get stuck thinking I have to wait until I’m ready.

But what if being ready isn’t the point? What if the goal is to practice? What if we’re allowed to just practice?

Because when I think about something as practice, it takes some of the fear out of it. It takes the pressure out of it.

I can be messy.

I can make mistakes.

I can say the wrong thing.

I can try something and realize it doesn’t work or decide I don’t want to continue doing it.

I can try again.

I don’t have to get it right.

I just have to practice.

Another thing, and this is particularly relevant for my ADHD community, If what I’m doing is practice, then every time I don’t do it is another opportunity to practice coming back to it.

I don’t have to turn every unfinished thing, every missed deadline, every day I avoided something into evidence that there’s something wrong with me.

I can just come back.

I can practice again.

I don’t have to punish myself, I just have to practice.

And that feels completely different.

If I’m practicing being a leader, then I don’t have to wake up one morning and suddenly become a leader. Every time I make a decision, speak up, take responsibility, or trust myself, I’m practicing being a leader.

If I’m practicing regulating my nervous system, then getting overwhelmed doesn’t mean I’ve failed at regulation. It means I have another opportunity to practice.

If I’m practicing self-love, then being hard on myself one day doesn’t erase everything I’ve learned. I get to practice choosing kindness and self-compassion the next time.

And maybe that’s what practice makes.

Not perfect.

Progress.

More experienced than before.

More confident than before.

More compassionate than before.

More willing than before.

More resilient than before.

More trusting than before.

More ourselves than before.

Practice makes it familiar.

Practice makes it less scary.

Practice makes room for mistakes.

Practice gives us permission to be beginners.

And then, eventually, practice makes us the person we were trying so hard to become.

So now I’m curious:

What are you practicing?

Not what are you trying to perfect.

Not who are you trying to become.

What are you practicing?

Where are you making progress?

And if practice doesn’t make perfect, what does it make for you?

Comment below and let me know, I’d genuinely love to hear what you’re practicing.

Or better yet, book a call and let's chat about it!