The Best Practice is Practice

We spend a lot of time reading how-to articles, case studies, and best practices.

We want to make sure we’ve got the best advice and the surest path to success.

We want to see how others have conquered problems in the hopes of replicating their success.

And who can blame us? We don’t want to waste time or make mistakes that might cause pain; financial, emotional or otherwise.

So we read. A lot. And we think. A lot.

But the fact of the matter is we’ll never get better at our craft by studying best practices. We actually have to practice. A lot. 

The Map is Not the Territory

A map of an area (i.e. a how to guide) can only provide a limited perspective of what is actually in the area (i.e. the real life scenario which the how to guide describes). Sure, it serves as a rough guide and can give you the feel of the land, but you won’t understand the lay of the land until you’ve actually traversed it yourself.

Reality can’t fit on a map. Reality can only be learned through experience. You don’t experience a city by looking at a map of it, you experience the city by being there; breathing it in, soaking it up.

The expression “the map is not the territory” was coined by Alfred Korzybski in 1931. He used the phrase to illustrate the notion that people’s beliefs about reality and their awareness of things (the “map”) are not reality itself or everything they could be aware of (“the territory”).

Our best practices are the map. Our actual practice gains knowledge of the territory.

Experience is the Greatest Educator

NBA legend Larry Bird used to shoot 500 free throws every morning before his high school classes started. He used to shoot for two hours after practice ended before heading home for dinner. Even when he was in the NBA, hours before anyone arrived at the arena, Bird was out there shooting jumpers, one after another, after another, after another.

He recognized that the way to get better was by constantly honing his craft – by practicing. He ended his career with the 10th best free throw percentage in NBA history, and a laundry list of statistical accolades. Larry Bird had talent and had knowledge, but what made him great was his commitment to practice.

“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.” – Larry Bird

Former NBA player Allen Iverson could learn a thing or two from Larry Legend.

In fact, we all could. We don’t get real knowledge until we experience something first-hand. That’s why practice is truly the best practice.

And who knows, you might have fun along the way.

[image: mrbill]

This post originally appeared on hanelly.com.