Saturday, August 26, 2017

On Practicing

"Don't practice until you get it right; practice until you can't get it wrong." – unknown

This speaks volumes to me right now as I'm struggling to remember countless new vocabulary terms in a class I'm taking. One of the tools to help is a vocabulary quiz we can take unlimited times in the online section of the class. It shuffles the terms to present us with new questions, some repeat questions, a different question order, etc. so that each time we retake the quiz we get a new feel for the terms.

The quiz isn't for a grade. It's just a learning tool for us.

I've been working on this since I arrived home from my A&P lab this morning. My first quiz results were 16/20. I was not pleased. So, I took it again. Again, 16/20. I huffed and harrumphed to myself and my stubborn side kicked in. I'll be damned if I stop before I get that 20/20. Eight attempts later, I did it. 20/20. Perfection. I knew them all. Every one.

But I'm not done.

I can't stop now.

I can't stop just because I got them all correct one time. I have to practice until I know I won't miss a single one.


That is how we become great. To develop skill and knowledge, we can't stop pushing when we become mildly competent. We keep going. We keep trying. We succeed, and we try again. We fail, and we try again. We keep practicing until even on those days where we are exhausted and beaten down with the pace of life, we can't get it wrong.