For people who don’t like goals (but prefer missions)

Long ago I found that if I convert a goal into a daily practice it goes better for me.

A daily practice — a routine that you time block into your day — puts you in a different frame of mind. You’re going to work on your practice without regard to how far away the goal may seem.

Just as a musician drums daily. Or a meditator meditates daily.

If I don’t practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.

~ Jascha Heifetz

Taking up a practice gets you in the mindset of daily immersion and daily advancement.

Think of a runner. Yes, she strives to best herself from time to time. Yet if she does not, there remains the endorphin elation of the running itself

A daily practice is its own reward. And it moves you ever closer to your goal each day.

Without the anxiety of an ever-vigilant eye on where you are in relation to that goal.

I wrote a book this way in the midst of some serious crazy.

You know, running an art gallery, recovering from the financial crash, making it a soul adventure for our family. While writing this blog. While helping out my Dad with health issues. While opening up a side business to help with the off-season.

A practice has two measurable elements:

Daily . . . for  a set amount of time.

You may measure by some other metric than a set amount of time — words written, basketballs sunk, prospects contacted.

However you quantify the result, it is measurable.

There’s a third element that cannot be witnessed:

The spirit with which it is undertaken. 

You know when you are approaching it with reverence. And when you aren’t. It’s palpable, that feeling of near-awe you get when you connect to the reason for the practice in the first place.

If you’ve got a goal there’s no purer way to enjoy the hell out of the journey than to make it a practice.

Saddle up and ride.

(Daily.)