This year two major time-oriented events will occur within the same week of March 2021. The first event will be Daylight Savings Time scheduled for Sunday March 14th for 48 states in America. The two states excluded are Arizona and Hawaii. According to several reports the State of Hawaii decided not to join the 1966 Uniform Time Act. Three years later in 1969, the State of Arizona opted out of the Uniform Time Act due to the extreme heat they experience annually in the summertime. Reports state their reasoning was due to the extreme heat from the sun which would stay out in the summer until 9 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. Because their region is mostly a desert region, it’s understandable.
The second major time-oriented event is the first day of Spring on Saturday, March 20th. Spring is usually a time where many of us start the tradition of Spring cleaning every room starting with changing the batteries in the smoke detectors and noticing how much dirt and dust has collected on the ceiling fan lighting fixtures, windowsills, and more. It’s like a scene from the story book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. One thing leads to another and before you know it, you’re into deep cleaning the whole house. It’s not a bad outcome, but more like a chore which leads us to understanding this universal practice of house cleaning is not just only for women, but equally important house cleaning is for the men and children, too. This thing called practice is truly a verb, meaning it requires action from everybody. Let’s explore some more about the importance and power of practice.
Practice is A Life Skill
According to most definitions of the word “practice” in the verb form, it means to perform an activity, exercise or a skill repeatedly or regularly. The results of the verb form practice is, it improves or maintains our proficiency to the point it becomes a habit. Some people like to call it muscle memory or automaticity. Others use the synonyms and call it rehearsal, studying and/or training. I like to use the words preparing, repeating, perfecting, and refining. Bottom line is each one of the terms emphasizes action, movement and to accomplish something.
But where does it begin? Ultimately, the activity of practice starts in the home where we the adult(s) teach our little one(s) how to walk, feed themselves, make up their bed, write their name and so much more. Once taught or shown, our childr(en) are be given the opportunity to rehearse it so that it becomes their responsibility. All adults then must continue to teach and reteach more lessons to the kids, teens and young adults to maintain the expectations so that they understand the level of what is acceptable and not acceptable. When they learn what is considered clean versus not clean, what’s right versus wrong or what is respectful versus disrespectful, they rise up to that level. That’s the power of the teaching and reteaching with high standards. It’s repetitive training that leads to preparing our child(ren) for life. That’s why practice is a life skill from Spring cleaning to year-round teaching.
Practice Also Leads to Self-Discipline
As our young child(ren), grow into teen(s) and later into young adult child(ren) they should experience the value in their hard work. Earning their grade and money is a lot more valuable and meaningful for them than being given everything they want. The more they practice, the better they become. Eventually the life lesson takes over and leads them towards a sense of independence, confidence, and self-esteem. Should our child(ren) fail, that’s fine because they learn the value of practicing or studying their way out of their failure and self-discipline will ease it’s way into their hearts and minds. As it is true with adults, it is also true with children, life’s setbacks, disappointments, and injuries has a way of teaching us hands-on what it means to be or become self-disciplined. It starts with reflecting and starting back over with what we were taught at home and at school. For many of us, we have to experience the old saying, “Experience is the best teacher, but the tuition is high”, meaning we have to pay a price for not listening to what was taught. We decided to do things our way and learned the hard way we should have done it the right way. Hmm…
Practice Leads to Success
Eventually when we really begin to listen and take to heart the importance of practice, preparation and studying we discover there’s power in practice and might I add patience. Both lessons are valuable, like Spring cleaning the brain mentally and emotionally. No more shortcuts because we’re tired or full of anxiety. We all get tired from the consistent grind and complain about what we have to go through to get it completed. However, when we reach that goal, pass that test, get that job done, we look back and recognize there is definitely some power in practicing, preparing and repeating it. It’s refreshing and rewarding.
This is why the Practice U staff and I classify you as a Practicologist with a capital P. You specialize in progressively getting better each day you wake up and start your journey, developing a routine, setting your boundaries, sharpening your memory, enhancing your critical thinking skills and so much more. When we apply the lyrics from our Practice U theme song, “The more I practice, practice, practice, the better I become, the better I become”. it makes perfect sense. In a nutshell, it’s the TM-I-PPP principle where the more you practice putting in the work, the more your work pays you. When you see and feel the pay-off happening in your life, you find yourself teaching it to others to help lead them to move towards self-improvement. What an amazing life cycle. Gradually you and I are representing the legacy of the Practice U brand. Tell us what you think on Facebook!