Almost everybody has heard at least once in their life the expression “Practice makes perfect.” It is not justifiable to declare that this saying is true, for what is true, is the fact that no human is perfect. Everyone will make mistakes in their life in everything that they do; this utter fact cannot be denied. I say that practice does not make perfect but rather progress. It can be seen in everyday life, in everything that we do, that perfection is in most cases not even close to being ascertained. While in most human events it becomes almost impossible to prove direct, simple, cause and effect relationships, an exception lies in the actuality that practice does make progress.
It is common for people, often sports celebrities, to claim that they are perfect in some aspect of life. There are exclusions to the notion that practice makes perfect, these people being known as prodigies in the field in which they associate themselves. Prodigies to begin with are in most cases fairly skilled at what they do, but like your average John, Dick, or Harry, prodigies too require practice to improve. What is the first thought that runs through your mind when you see Michelle Kwan figure skating on television? It’s probably something like: wow, she must have practiced a whole lot to get that good. This is an example of how human nature is to automatically relate extensive skill with practice. But figure skaters aren’t perfect; though they may have a seemingly flawless performance, there always exists some way that their presentation could have been better, closer to perfect.
Consider the definition of perfection: something, often an action, which involves no errors. But what dictates an error? This is all a gray area when it comes to the subject of perfection. Someone can insist that they are perfect, or their work is perfect, but when analyzed closer and closer, it becomes evident that a better or more efficient method of doing the same thing also exists. This mere possibility of something better or more efficient automatically overrules the person’s state of perfection. Every single thing in existence will always be able to improve in some way, thus it is impossible to achieve complete flawlessness.
By practicing tennis every day of the last season, I have greatly improved many aspects of my game, but I am far from perfect. Pete Sampras continues to become a better tennis player every day too, and although he is one of the most accomplished players of all time, he too is far from perfect. If he’d been perfect, then he would have won every one of his matches, or even if it were only his serves that had been perfect, then he would have made an ace every time.
This didn’t happen, for nobody is perfect in any aspect of life. But the truth of the matter is, that no matter how hard someone may try at something, they will only improve at that task, never achieving perfection. Through practice, it is only human nature to improve, or make progress. Whether or not you try to improve at something, by doing it, you inadvertently increase your skill in that area, whether you realize it or not. By improving at something over a matter of days, you are just that much better at it, but improvement over a period of years can turn you into a professional at it. Even professionals, however, continue to practice at what they do, for it is this devotion that makes them as good as they are, and keeps them getting better. It is plausible to argue that a specific cause does not always result in a specific effect every time, but practice does in fact always result in progress.
Progress relates to all aspects of life, such as becoming a better parent, student, or even tennis player. People have to practice at everything in life; such practice provides experience, and this underlying memory reservoir is what fuels progress.
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