You’re Always Practicing Something: A Framework For Life

This article is my Atomic Essay #2 in the January Ship 30 for 30 writing challenge.

You’re always practicing something.

When you hit snooze on your morning alarm, you’re practicing hitting snooze when it’s time to wake up.

When you brush your teeth and don’t floss, you’re practicing brushing your teeth without flossing.

When you watch YouTube videos instead of reading, you’re practicing watching YouTube videos and not reading.

You’re always practicing something — and the more you practice, the easier it becomes.

We are what we practice.

When you argue with your significant other instead of listening, you are practicing arguing instead of listening. Which means, over time, you’ll get quite good at arguing.

When you abandon projects halfway through instead of pushing to complete them, you are practicing giving up instead of striving for completion. Which means, over time, you’ll get quite good at giving up.

When you scroll through Instagram instead of taking a moment to let your mind wander, you are practicing picking up your phone to distract yourself instead of auditing your feelings. Which means, over time, you’ll get quite good at The Art of Distraction.

Every moment in life, every action, every decision, we are always practicing something.

When we are conscious and present, we are practicing being conscious and present.

When we are disconnected, we are practicing being disconnected.

Who you are is the sum of your actions.

And your actions are what you choose to practice.