Practice – One of the Very First Investments You’ll Make
I remember back in the day watching one of the GOAT TV shows of 90’s Nick, the crew was at basketball practice and -as expected- it wasn’t typical by any means. The Coach/Tuckers Dad released a forceful bark “PASS THE BALL TO TUCKER!”, that was the play, and if you haven’t heard… “practice makes perfect”. The Great Ed Monix once said “Cause someday you’re gonna be too tired or too nervous to think. And when you are, this is the play that I’m gonna call. We need to be able to run this play in our sleep.” When your too tired to think, it’s the muscle memory from practice that takes over and puts you in that ever so important position to win.
Back then it was simply a cartoon to entertain kids (possibly get us hooked to watch more- thus increasing ad revenue for the station), but after reflecting (flipping on 90’s Nick at 2am returning from a night out) years later, one finds that many of these cartoons hide amusing (and quite accurate) slights and jabs on different societal issues. “Hey Arnold” called out this over-competitive parenting craze back in 1996. I’m slowly convincing myself that a revisit to these wise folk tales may be necessary for proper research. If you were wondering, the short list would include the above mentioned Hey Arnold, Doug (Full Disclosure: I was Quailman one Halloween in college), Rugrats, Keenan & Kel and Rocket Power (cause Twisters and Tido are my dudes) – All in the name of cultural research Of-Course.
Anyway, as one navigates through the 10-15 ages and enters high school they may begin to really apply that “practice delivers results” mindset, whether it’s in schoolwork, playing sports, music, the arts or sneaking out to the parking lot to partake in mischievous activities. A series of investments begin to be made that are blind to the naked eye. It starts to become clear that there’s something to this whole “putting in the time” thing. Now before you go there, I’ll go there, Yes! there are the select few individuals that may fall into the “They’re a Natural” category, but for the vast majority it’s a time and dedication game.
So having gone through all this, growing up in the 90’s and 2000’s, choosing sports as my driver with everything else balanced in the back seat, I ask myself, would I approach it the same way knowing what I know now?
I can only speak for me and provide my $0.02, but I believe several of my peers who’ve had similar journeys will feel the same way. Being committed to something at a young age teaches you incredible lessons and establishes an essential tool-set to propel you into personal sucess later in life. It fertilizes commitment, passion, self-esteem, leadership, collaboration, ownership and so much more. All essential traits to navigate your life through the choppy seas and unforgiving headwinds you face out in the wild, far from the safe-haven of your home.
Growing up I was lucky enough not to be pressured by the forces at home to be a standout in any particular activity. I wasn’t handed a bill of expected achievements that needed to be paid-forward in order to receive care and nurture. Rather quickly I realized that I was not naturally great at any one thing (If I am, I haven’t found it yet) but I was pretty good and well rounded in general. As I took on interests one phrase would be consistently preached by the “All-Knowing” and “Wise” adults around me, “Practice makes Perfect” so I figured I’d see what this Kool-Aid was all about.
It became pretty evident that committing to practice could lead to some substantial results. Spending countless hours in the driveway, backyard, field and gym – getting stronger, faster, smarter and more efficient. Don’t get me wrong, I practiced video games quite a lot too (looking at eSports now maybe I would have been better off keeping the controller in m hand). I had the honors of captaining both my high school basketball and lacrosse teams, went through the college recruitment process, played and captained a Division 1 Lacrosse team. Now I work as an Engineer at a technology company, no physical skills needed except typing away on a keyboard each day. Not exactly how I drew it up.
Almost everyone gets into sports at a young age to be the next Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Ronaldo, Tom Brady(….whoever), but if you’re a stats geek, you’ll quickly point out that one has better odds to be chosen for the Hunger Games than becoming a pro athlete at that level. So at 27 years of age (and with 98% acceptance that I’m not gonna be called to the pros) was the 15+ year sports journey worth it?
I can tell you that fifteen years of sports did nothing to get me physically prepared for my current career but it did everything mentally. It’s all about learning, experiencing the process, the highs, the lows and watching goals that once seemed unattainable be reached. Kids learning to commit to something (whatever it may be) in their adolescence will be ROI Positive for the rest of their lives. This can really be applied to all people in any stage of life. Reiterating what I stated before, I wasn’t a natural at anything in particular, but once I was able to figure out that Hard Work trumps the skilled lazy people it was a game-changer. Knowing is only half the battle, it’ll actually have to be put into practice, and believe it or not – It’s Hard Work to Work Hard. There’s no secret pill (yet), figure out what’s important to you and put in the work, I would say the ultimate goal for most is Happiness, so do whatever it takes to get there and enjoy the ride……because why the hell not!
Your Time is finite, no one’s really sure how much they have left (yet) and it is indeed true that “If you dont use it, you DO lose it”.
That’s not to say that working hard isn’t gonna suck at times but it’s only a minor speed-bump in the quest for happiness, and if you’ve found happiness in the process then you – my friend – have won! I know many people who’ve counted down the days until their collegiate careers were over, they viewed the work as exceeding the reward but I don’t know any who would look back and say that micro struggle hasn’t benefited them in the macro. The ROI from my first real investment has and will continue to pay off for the foreseeable future. Make a commitment, follow happiness, embrace the micro struggle and let things fall into place. And as my High School World History teacher would say “Take Chances, Make Mistakes, Get Messy”
