There is an old adage that I have heard from music directors, coaches, and school teachers alike. The statement goes like this, “Practice makes perfect.” Such a statement is made with the underlying suggestion that, if you practice enough times, eventually you’ll get it perfect.

The problem, however, is that practice does NOT equate to perfection.

Allow me to explain by offering an example.

Can you guess how many perfect games have been thrown in the history of Major League Baseball?

Before I give you the answer, I want to clarify a few details about this question:

Per MLB rules, a perfect game occurs when no batter of the opposing team reaches any base. None by walks, hits, or errors.As of December 2022, MLB has had over 140 years of activity including over 235,500 games played.For well over a century, MLB pitchers have been professionals who hone their craft, even in the offseason, to be more accurate, faster, and craftier in their approaches.

With all that in mind, how many perfect games do you think have taken place?

The answer is 23.

I mention this because, with all of the improvements in physical, physiological, and psychological training, perfect games are still a rarity. If adequate practice resulted in perfection, it would be easy to place blame on any major league pitcher for NOT yet having a perfect game. One could claim they simply had not yet worked hard enough.

While the underlying motive of “practice makes perfect” is valuable. The resulting expectations overlook human imperfection and error. That is why I like how football coach Vince Lombardi tweaked this statement. He said, “Practice does not make perfect. But only practice makes permanent.”

Any task you perform on repeat: a golf swing, rehearsing a piece of music, or speaking in public, will inevitably create pathways in your brain that you are more likely to repeat over and over. Thus, if you have swung a golf club 1,000 times with the same hitch in your swing, your brain has learned to swing with that hitch. Conversely, if you focus on practicing a piece of music in a manner similar to how you might perform it in front of an audience, your mind and body will learn the piece and the performance in a way that makes it all feel like second nature (i.e. permanent).

When it comes to giving a speech, pitch, lesson, or sermon, what you do repeatedly will develop a permanence in your brain. How you prepare, how you practice, and even the gestures or tendencies you use during talks will become second nature…whether you intend them to or not.

So as you approach your next talk, lesson, speech, or sermon, pay attention to your process. Pay attention to those pieces that have become second nature. Perhaps even invite a coach or trusted friend to point out some of your less-effective tendencies. Because whatever you do repeatedly, whatever you practice over and over will eventually become permanent.