Practice makes possible #30BrighterDays

Yesterday I texted my friend Vikki to tell her the power #30BrighterDays has had on my outlook. I feel centered, lighter, and more inspired since I dedicated November to writing and posting daily. I feel more like myself.

The accountability of both writing and hitting publish is doubly-effective for me right now as an anti-perfectionism practice. Knowing you’re out there reading this and hearing back from some of you when I resonate–it creates a transaction, a flow. I approached #30BrighterDays with the intention of this practice brightening my day as well as yours.

I know the power of practice, yet knowing doesn’t always mean doing. Vikki and I both understand the benefit that writing daily holds for us, yet we both go through periods of not writing. Sometimes a person genuinely needs a break, and sometimes we cave to resistance and perfectionism and call it rest, too busy, or blocked.

When I fall away from regular practice (whether exercise, healthy eating, creative expression, keeping house, maintaining connections with loved ones, etc) I inevitably struggle, only to begrudgingly return to my practice over again.

The same holds true for practice in other areas in my life. I go through “yes” periods of welcoming opportunities and making commitments, until I over-commit and suddenly want to shut-down Ann office hours all together. Sometimes I do shut-down Ann office hours. Create, destroy, repeat.

Thanksgiving comes next week. Holidays provide another form of practice; practice setting boundaries of both the interpersonal and waistband variety. I recommend thoughtful and firm for the boundaries, loose and expandable for the pants. Maybe instead of trying to create the perfect meal or caving to a whim to destroy the family table all together–we can adopt a practice mindset: Show up, and devote our time. We can put forth our work as today’s practice, regardless of seating estrangements arrangements, kids belching the alphabet rather than declarations of gratitude, and lumpy gravy.

I don’t think that practice makes perfect. I think practice makes possible.