Practice Makes Perfect

I subscribe to a weekly newsletter from James Clear, author of the bestselling book Atomic Habits. In one of his newsletters, he shared the following:

"Two simple rules: 1. You get better at what you practice. 2. Everything is practice. Look around, and you may be surprised by what people are 'practicing' each day. If you consider each moment a repetition, what are most people training for all day long?"

This stopped me in my tracks. It seems that many of us are becoming very good at doomscrolling. Others are becoming quite adept at worrying about things they have no control over (likely due to all the doomscrolling). Some have even become experts at instigating arguments online with people they have never met and probably never will. And lots of our youth are becoming expert video gamers and TV watchers. And these are just examples of ways we "practice" using technology; there are many other unproductive things we "practice" in our daily lives that are not helping us progress in positive ways.

What if we practiced putting our phones away whenever we were with friends and family? What if we practiced spending more time in nature? What if we practiced exercising and eating healthier? What if we practiced going out of our way to be kinder to everyone? I bet we'd feel better, make new friends, deepen our connections with loved ones, and make the world around us a better place.

Speaking of making the world a better place — and in honor of Earth Day on April 22 — be sure to read this month's "Plastic Plastic Everywhere" feature on pages 20-21 to educate yourself about recycling. We hope it will help you to practice being more intentional about the use and disposal of plastic products and other recyclable waste.

Have an awesome April!