We’re Talking About Practice!

Practice is a process, not a goal post.

Haha.
Any Ted Lasso fans out there?

While I could EASILY write an entire blog post / newsletter / loveletter about Ted Lasso… that’s not what we’re doing today.

Today we’re talking about practice, and the mindset shift + magic that occurs when we commit to our personal & business practices as business owners, leaders, and thoughtful humans.

Practice is a process, not a goal post.

Practice grounds you in a growth mindset which allows you to view your challenges, setbacks, and shortcomings as things you can improve, overcome, learn from, or change.

Cue the chorus of angels b/c this means you don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t even have to be good.
And you can make mistakes.

This may all seem very obvious now, but how many times have you held back b/c of what you didn’t know or weren’t good at yet? 🙋🏻‍♀️

Or worse, quit immediately because you weren’t immediately good. 🙋🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

I struggle with overcoming the urge to be perfect, to put out perfect work, to ONLY put out perfect work everyday. I think we all understand that practice leads to improvement, and yet the online business world and social media make it look like only perfect work get made.

Reality check: only perfect work get shown.

So if you’re gonna level up your leadership, grow your small business, or dive into a new one, you have to first ground yourself in a growth mindset.

You have to get started.
And then you have to show up to practice.

Confession time:
I did not start Winston & Main because I was a wonder kid floral designer-
more Ted Lasso IFYKYK 😉
I look back at some of the first flower arrangements I made, and cringe.
My technique, my flower choices, my pricing, all of it was…less than ideal.

You know how I got better?

It wasn’t a course.
Or a workshop.
Or even a coach.

Although I know now, that any one of those things probably could have expedited/complimented my practice. 😉

Nope.
It was practice.

Every week, I would go to the flower market, buy some flowers, and then go home and try to make arrangements that mimicked designers I admired.

Most of the time I failed.

I couldn’t even produce a good copy, let alone an original.
I couldn’t (yet) bridge the gap between my vision and my final product, because I was missing the mastery of the skills and techniques I needed to bring my vision to life, which, friends, is a nice way to say: I sucked.

Most any new thing you want to do, you’ll probably suck at it at first too.
So one of the biggest reasons to take action and get started, is so that you can practice, and get better.

I built that bridge between my vision and my final creation one flower arrangement at a time.

What’s even better, is that with practice, I moved beyond mimicry and developed my own style.

You’re not getting better sitting on the sidelines,
no matter how many online courses you buy.

So long live the shitty first draft.
The failed ideas.
The 5,127 prototypes that gave us the Dyson vacuum.
(again cue chorus of angels)

Practice is a noun AND a verb:

the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it.
perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency.

And you can approach anything in your business or life from the growth / practice mindset.

Practice is the key to turning your ideas into action and embodying your values in your daily life. It’s THE practical magic that transforms potential into profit in your business.

One failure, embarrassment, and mess at a time.
So show up, f#!k up, and see what happens.

I’d love to hear what you’re trying, failing, and getting better at this week, and how I can support your practice.

Email me: hello@tabithaabercrombie.com