Focusing on Practice Instead of the Performance

I recently read a post from James Clear about focusing on the actual practice of a habit rather than the ideal performance.

One of the skills that I’m currently practising is blog writing. If you had told me at the beginning of last year that I would be a writer, I would have given you a blank stare before bursting out in laughter.

You see, I never considered myself a writer, although it was a skill I know can help me in my career and even my dream business. It was on my birthday that I told myself the following line.

“Glenn you just turned 40… it’s time to learn that skill that you’ve been dreading for a while… F**ck it, just do it!!”

Focusing on my habits that link to my goals

It just so happens that I read Atomic Habits just before I decided to learn how to write on Medium. Based on what I read, the best way to learn a skill is by turning the practice into a habit.

I’m a husband and a father with a demanding job in Recruitment. Although what James Clear said made sense, there were two problems that I had to solve. First, I had to find time out of my busy life to write consistently.

The second is that I only like writing when I get inspiration. Writing regularly was going to be a mental battle as I felt that if I forced myself to write something, I wouldn’t be bringing my best work.

Getting over (or around) the Brick wall

Finding time for writing took me a few weeks to get into the proper habit. I realised that I could spend 30min or 1-hour writing and not even finish the article — and that’s ok.

What’s important is that I showed up! I did the work even though I wasn’t able to finish it.

In regards to getting inspiration when I write, it’s hardly there. I had to force myself to write even though it wasn’t my best work. However, it reminded me of a video game I played as a kid. The game was called Final Fantasy which is a role-playing game. Whenever I killed a monster, I would get experience points (EXP for short). The more EXP I brought, the higher the chances I level up and unlock a new skill.

My writing is very much like that. The more I write consistently, the more experience (EXP) I get and the higher the chance of me improving my writing skills (levelling up).

The time I hit my weekly habits

I remember the feeling of being able to hit my weekly habit goals. It felt so good to create a habit system to stick to eventually. My newly formed habits included writing, going to the gym, meditating and practising gratitude.

Although my posts on Medium were nowhere near the best I’ve written, I was still able to write something that people are happy to read (even if it’s just two views)

The most important thing is that I showed up to practice.

Once my writing habit is locked in place, it’s only a matter of time until I level up good enough to write my book and level up from Writer to Author! So don’t worry if you suck at the skill you’re trying to learn during practice. What’s important is that you show up.

It’s time to focus on getting the EXP to level up!

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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