Grow in ways nobody can take away from you

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result doesn’t make you crazy, it makes you an artist.

You’re somebody who is not afraid to show up at the same place, every day, do the work, and play the long term statistical averages of the creative process.

It’s not insanity, it’s trusting that statistically, the greater the number of attempts you make at doing things, the more likely an anomalous result will eventually occur. It’s only a matter of time.

Now, that might sound crazy to some, but that’s only because our impatient, attention deficit disorder, immediate feedback, instant gratification culture has conditioned us out of one of life’s most valuable habits.

Sitting down by yourself and practicing something over and over again.

Not three or five or fifty times, but hundreds of times. Thousands of times.

Nobody does that anymore. Because nobody needs to. Everyone wants to be a rockstar, but nobody wants to master the chords. Everyone wants the scar, but nobody’s wants the scab.

Too bad. Because for those not willing to submit themselves to some kind of practice, but are still hoping for immediate success, maybe they’re the ones who are crazy.

Ask anyone who’s been doing a particular skill, task or habit for more than ten years. In many cases, the only way they get a different result is by doing the same thing over and over again. They might switch up their routine or modify the process in small ways. But on the whole, they keep coming back. That’s why it’s called a practice.

Reminds me of something my yoga instructor once said during class:

The best part of any daily practice is the commitment to seek what is fresh, spontaneous, and interesting in the same place you looked for it yesterday. She taught me that the yoga, like many things, is always the same. It’s you who changes. Your body, your life, your priorities, your vales. Those are the variables in this equation. The constant of the practice will reflect them back to you during each class. And if you keep trying those same postures over and over again, eventually, a different result will show up. One day you’ll touch your head to your knee or execute a full back bend or balance your entire body on your big toe. The yoga will be the same as it always was, but you’ll look in the mirror and realize that you’re a different person than when you started.

Remember, you can’t experience fulfillment without any sort of delay. If something can be delivered overnight, then it probably won’t offer you lasting satisfaction.

But find a practice to keep showing up to, day after day, and you’ll grow in ways nobody can take away from you.

What are you letting take over your life just because it has a more immediate payoff?