Success Myths : Consistency in practice is over-rated

Disclaimer : The title of the post is just to catch your attention. Don’t take it literally.

I have written paeons about how consistent practice yields substantially stable results. (In any field of your choosing – study, sport, or art). This is but half the story.

The other quarter is that your brain should register each practice session done as actual work done and progress made, however little. Unless that happens, long practice streaks have no value.

And the last quarter is that you should pour your heart, soul, and body into the time that you devote to your practice session. (Woh 70 mins, anyone?)

I’ll give you my own example :

When I started competitive shooting in 2016, I was almost a regular at the range, and spent an average of 2-3 hours, one of which was pure holding. I did my holding religiously, and built a solid muscle memory. But as I used to be exhausted, most of the times I skipped my live shooting regime. This led to a half-baked confidence, that did not give me match results.

In 2017, I got serious about Nationals in December (3 weeks before the big day). I had only a few training sessions left, but I was always present in body and mind. I did holding at home, shooting on the range, and running on the track as and when it was possible for me. Let me tell you, I missed quite a few sessions in them. However the ones that I did left such an imprint on my mind that I was as prepared as I would have been if I had had that mindset the whole year. (This is obviously a hyperbole, but you get the gist, eh?)

Cut to today : I have not practiced much in the last 3 months. Today I maintained the same score in practice match as in Nationals. This was possible only because of mental strength – which was improved by being PRESENT in whatever little practice I could manage in 2018.

I know this is not something to be proud of and follow as a long term approach. Practice is a MUST. I just want to say – if you lose some days, it doesn’t mean you’ve lost your skills. Build them up, session by session – however further apart in time these sessions may be.

To sum up :

Consistency in practice is over-rated. Consistency in mindset is the real deal.