I had grown up hearing the ‘Practice is the key to excellence’ line so much that it was one of those concepts I never bothered questioning. You can imagine my surprise when I heard my tennis coach say ‘Practice makes bad habit’ when I learnt some of the basics of the game from him 2 years ago.
His idea was simple – if you practice, make sure you practice the right things. More often than not, we just practice the wrong techniques and make them habitual by repetition.
He was absolutely right. Reading ‘Talent is Overrated’ by Geoff Colvin reinforced this learning – Geoff Colvin’s path to success involves a concept called ‘Deliberate Practice’ and that involves working on a practice routine that is essentially designed by a coach or someone who has an accurate understanding of the kind of training that will stretch you. I plan to go deeper into Colvin’s concepts as a part of the Sunday Book Learning series.
The take aways for me have been very straightforward –
– If you want to get really good, hire a coach. There are hardly any pro athletes who don’t have a coach.
– Practice with a routine/regimen designed by this coach that would ideally stretch you.
– And consciously do more of the things you know you need to do and that are not fun! Eg: While learning guitar, play more new songs during the 20 minute practice session rather than making yourself feel good by playing songs you know for long parts.
‘Practice makes bad habit.’ A great learning. Thanks to Chris Mullins.
A Learning a Day 