one thousand practice hits

Not every creation you make can be a home run.

What about all the hundreds and thousands of practice hits?

Don’t forget, with each repetition of your craft, with each practice session, for every day you show up, butt in seat, ready to write or paint or build or draw or teach or connect with others and share your art in the way that only you can… in every single instance, you are growing.

You are developing, like a plant taking in the sunlight and letting it fuel your growth, or transforming into something vibrant and stronger, like a film photograph developing in the dark room.

You are investing the time and effort required to get better at something.

It’s not about your one home run.

It’s not about making all of them home runs.

It’s about the thousand hits in between.

It’s about showing up and establishing your practice, being ready for whenever you’re able to create the next big showstopper. Working in little bits and watching it slowly evolve into a giant, worthwhile, magical culmination; not just a one-time masterpiece. Chugging along even when what you’re making isn’t mind blowing. Trusting the process of creation and output, even when you don’t feel like it. Knowing that sometimes what you make and share might not seem very important or beautiful to you — maybe it isn’t living up to your standards or hopes — but it could be just the thing someone else needs and loves.

And remember, they can’t all be home runs.

Sometimes the thing you’re working on right now will just be the filler and support, the piece that lets everything else keep moving and working, the play that sets you up beautifully for what’s coming next.

Keep going.

Acknowledgement and thanks to my friend, Shane,

for the conversation and idea that sparked this post.