One Big Difference Between Practice and Performance

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Brian Kight

Imagine a line about a foot wide and 20 yards long drawn on the ground. See yourself walking from one end of the line to the other without stepping off the line at all.

Now imagine that line is a one-foot wide, 20 yard long bridge above a 50-foot drop into freezing cold water. See yourself walking from one end of the bridge to the other without falling off and plummeting into an icy plunge.

The act is the same in both scenarios, but you’re unlikely to feel the same and walk the same in both scenarios. Why? Perception of consequences for mistakes.

If you contextualize more moments as practice rather than performance, you can release a lot of the fear that might hold you back from being your best in the moment.

When you see a moment as practice you can still give full effort, still try your best, still aim to perform exceptionally well, but not worry so much about the outcome, what will happen to you, and how you’re perceived.

When you see a moment as practice you can focus on the execution of the action without fear of the result.

The consequence, ironically, is better execution which leads to better performance. And in the case of mistakes, better learning experiences.

Everything is training for something. Do the work

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