Practice? Or Play?

Somewhere between being a kid and being an adult we lose our focus on having fun and start looking for results. We have a vision for how we want things to be: work, running, creative pursuits, even our rec league softball swing. We start doing things not because they are fun, but because we can achieve a certain outcome.

What I think we often forget is that it takes years of practice to be really good at something. We aren’t going to sit down at a piano and play Mozart the first time. We aren’t going to run a perfect race...ever! We may make some huge and embarrassing beginner mistakes. I know I have.

I wonder what would happen if we forgot about results and returned to play? Yesterday, on a beautiful day, I was running through windy roads lined with piles of crisp and crunchy fall leaves that practically begged me to run through them. Feeling light on my feet, I flew down the hills, abandoning form and letting the wind push me forward, pumping my arms and smiling, mouthing words to the music on my ipod. It was fun. I felt as free as a small child running down a steep hill just because it was there.

What if we just celebrated the joy in moving towards something? Whenever I start something new, I now consciously remind myself that it will take practice. I think of starting the piano when I was 10 and playing something along the lines of twinkle, twinkle little star (and not well) at my first recital. I was so bad at the saxophone when I began, my dog used to bark at me and bite at my ankles. I had to start somewhere. We all do. And there is virtue in the practice of doing something you love. I never wanted to be a professional musician; I just wanted to play some instruments. It’s not always about an end result, but just getting better over time. What if we celebrated, in the way a proud parent celebrates a child’s little league base hit, or first dance recital, the work we have already done? What if we gave ourselves permission to make mistakes, to learn, to grow, and to cherish each improvement?

We are so focused on accomplishment in this society, on the ends. We forget to celebrate beginnings and small achievements. We forget that we practice and play because it brings us some internal joy. I want to remind every beginning runner that it should be fun.  I need to remind myself of this. If you are going so hard you are miserable why would you continue to do it? As my sister once reminded me, “you aren’t training for the Olympics.”  When I remember there isn’t a gold medal on the line, I remember to stop taking myself, and my running so seriously. Running isn’t always about goals or faster times or better conditioning. Sometimes it is just my excuse to “play outside” for a while. We all know what practice makes, but when practice is actually fun? Nothing can stop us.

Forget about pace splits and gadgets, and gear and proper form. Have fun. And by all means, don’t feel like you need to be home before the streetlights come on. That’s what headlamps are for. Play on, friends.