Why Practice Is More Important Than Goals

In the world of constant goal setting, we often forget why we do what we do in the first place. Why do we set up goals? To keep going, achieve a new level, progress, and get rewarded. Right? But in the end, why do we want to achieve the next level?

I used to struggle with my weight. For years. I wasn’t overweight, but I always was unhappy about my weight. I tried all kinds of diets: no fat, no carbs, split diet, 80/20 diet, raw and so on.

I exercised because I wanted to lose weight. At one stage, I exercised twice a day, 7 days a week. No wonder when I came across a Pilates book that promised results in 15 minutes, I bought it right away. Later, I became a Pilates instructor. Even then, I couldn’t keep my weight within my desired range.

Until one day, I decided that even ten minutes of exercising would help me stay in shape. I chose workouts that I enjoyed. I started enjoying exercising. The feeling that I did something good for myself and my body became the reason I continued exercising.

And then a miracle happened. I no longer chased my ideal weight. I stopped stepping on the scales. Maintaining my ideal weight became easy.

This is a secret of practice instead of setting up a goal. I created a habit of exercising and being kind to myself. This combination gave the desired result.

Do you want to become a famous published author? You start from where you are. You start writing and publishing. Maybe, at first, blog posts on your blog or Medium, then you write a book. You practice writing articles to become a better writer.

One of the best books on practice is written by Seth Godin. It’s called The Practice: Shipping Creative Work. The book shows how practice creates the results we want to achieve.

You achieve what you want through practice. You get to the state that what matters is practice, and you detach yourself from a particular goal. 

The goal becomes to practice regularly.

You learn to speak a foreign language not because you took an 8-hour immersion once. You learn it by consistently practising. You learn new words. You try to repeat what you hear and write down what you learned. You try to say a few phrases. You challenge yourself to learn more. 

You start reading books and watching TV in the language you choose to learn. And then, one day, you speak the language fluently. And even then, you continue to practice to maintain and improve your new language.

It’s the same with everything. If you want to start selling your art, you need to start at the very beginning and practice. The more you practice, the sooner you’ll become better at what you do.

Seth Godin teaches about the importance of shipping your creative work. It means you must put it out to the world when creating something. Showcase your work on your website, publish your videos on YouTube or post your blog posts. Click Publish. Unless you get your work out to the world, you may never get feedback. Not all feedback is useful, but you’ll know what is.

Keep practising, keep doing what you want to be better at, and detach from the outcome. This will bring you not only to the next level of excellence. but also joy.

Practice is creating a habit and doing what you decide to do without attaching to the outcome. Some days, when I paint, I finish the piece. Others, I knew I needed to dip my brush into water, mix some watercolours and paint something. Anything. Play with colours even if the results may not be what I wanted. But later, these “painting anything” sessions will bring me to the finished and improved piece.

Choose what you enjoy, of course. Otherwise, there is no point in improving at something you don’t enjoy doing.

Next time you set goals, ask yourself if you’re trying to impress someone with your goal or want to become better at what you choose to do.

Choosing a habit will bring you to the results you want sooner. You’ll be practising because of practice, not your goal.

At the same time, you’ll achieve your goals and beyond.

“Writers write. Runners run. Establish your identity by doing your work.”

~ Seth Godin, The Practice: Shipping Creative Work

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