It is
rare to be instantly good at something. I have been reminded of this when
I've watched my boys struggle to learn to tie their shoes, ice skate, or try to
play an instrument. In fact, I am constantly encouraging my sons
that if there is anything in life that they would like to do, they need to
practice, practice, practice. “When you're not practicing, someone
somewhere is . . ..” I have heard this quote credited to everyone from
Larry Bird to Bill Bradley to Ed Macauley and the bottom line
is that I believe it is true.
My
older son was frustrated during his 2015-2016 basketball season because he
could not make a lay-up consistently. So, he decided to spend hours repeatedly
working on this same shot. When basketball started this past winter, he
was proud that his hard work paid off because he was able to consistently make
his lay-ups (from both side of the hoop). Meanwhile a 180 degree
turn from that experience was his short-lived career as an axe-wielding, lead
guitarist. Although I had visions of grandeur that he would become the
next Derek Trucks or John Mayer, he practiced minimally between
lessons and eventually it caught up with him. I remember his instructor
“Guitar” Mike pulling me aside after one of his final lessons and stating that
the one thing he could do to get better was practice and I will give you less
than 10 seconds to guess how that ended.
The
ability to repeat something over and over takes self-regulation. Bruce
Springsteen was recently interviewed by comedian and broadcaster Marc Maron
(host of the popular WTFpodcast), and according to Timothy Bracy of Men’s
Journal account of the interview, “perhaps the most important takeaway is that
Springsteen, through rigorous discipline. . .has experienced fame and success .
. .”. Reading an interview with his E Street Band drummer,
Max Weinberg stated that Springsteen's "modus operandi in the studio"
is "to literally play things 30 or 40 times" before committing it to
a recording.
As I
get older, I am finding that varying degrees of discipline are important,
particularly when it comes from the crossroads of inspiration, pride and
determination. I also need to remind myself that it is never too late to
learn something new. The future is one of the only things we can
change. At the moment for me it is to be able to run multiple sections of
The MotherFricker and still be able to walk up the hill to The Independent
later in the day. I just ran 8 miles and feel that I am almost there.
I will just need to get out for a number of runs before April 1.
Thanks
for reading!
