Many people like to believe that if they don’t take the time to train themselves on a daily basis their skill levels will somehow remain stagnant, like on a plateau.  That their skills and abilities will somehow remain in stasis, neither improving or regressing until the next class, the next workshop, the next seminar, or the next time they can get their Daily Personal Practice on track again.  The truth of the matter is not so cut and dry.

Here’s the Reality

Here’s the reality – if you are not taking the time to train on a consistent basis than you are steadily declining in skill.  Each practice session you skip (not miss – skip.  Skipping is a choice), your skill level decreases slightly, your abilities atrophy just a bit.  There is no such thing as stagnation.  Your body cannot remain motionless if you are alive and breathing.  Either you are getting better through your daily commitment of consistently going deeper into your practice or you are getting worse.  No middle ground.  No fence sitting.  One side or the other.  Stop fooling yourself.

The good news is, once you accept that stagnation is a myth, you can begin to look at your practice objectively and actually begin the steady climb to create real progress.  You see, real progress is not a sudden flurry of activity followed by a lull.  Real progress is only achieved in consistent, incremental steps day by day.  It’s the little things that count, not the big ones.  It’s the little steps that build and accumulate.

Do you think your yearly pilgrimage to Japan (or your martial arts/fitness training Mecca of choice) is causing your skill level to jump?  Nope.  It’s not.  Yes, it’s motivating.  Yes, it’s inspiring.  Yes, you are learning new things, getting corrections (hopefully!), and gaining new and deeper insights.  BUT – how do all those new insights come to fruition?  You don’t own them until they become assimilated by your nervous system.  That takes time.  That takes practice.

Deep, consistent practice.

That deep practice is the slow and steady grind of your consistent daily training.

That’s where the magic happens.  It happens in the grind.  In the regular training.  In the ordinary time.

That’s where REAL skill is built.  That’s how masters are made.