We live the life we repeat
As guest Sunday pianist at the local nursing home, I play from the hymnal the facility uses for their services instead of my church hymnal. Recently, I stumbled and fumbled my way through the familiar Christmas carol O Come All Ye Faithful. Though I've played that song for 40 years, in this new hymnal, the song was written in the key of D instead of my familiar key of C. It wasn't that the song was difficult with two sharps, but my brain kept trying to play what I had practiced all those years instead of what was being asked of me today.
We're like that, you and I. We become what we practice.
We echo the attitude we surround ourselves with. We live the life we repeat. We do what we've learned to do. And, we do it over and over and over again.
“A practice is a commitment to process over outcome, a commitment to taking small steps forward with the purpose of collecting feedback and learning. It’s an Experiment + persistence.”
A young states attorney cautioned a group of fifth graders to watch who they hung out with, telling them we become like the people we surround ourselves with the most.
“Their bad behavior soon becomes our bad behavior. It becomes normal. It becomes practiced. It becomes a song in the key of C, the song our brain automatically tries to play.”
Oh, and yes, for the second morning service, I took out my own hymnal and played the song my brain wanted to play because whether in the key of C or the key of D, O Come All Ye Faithful is a song of praise heard best when the right notes are played.
This blog originally appeared October 13, 2002 LikeMyLife by Judy Mae Bingman
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I’ve always said my superpower rests in taking the complicated and making it understandable, finding the sliver of extraordinary and elevating it above the noisy clutter. I think every good storyteller needs that perception, that discernment to grasp what is obscure and see what is not evident.
Want to read what I’m reading?
These are my personal development book recommendations. Pick up these books wherever you shop or support my efforts by using the Amazon links provided.
About the book: I bought How to Begin because of this quote: “A practice is a commitment to process over outcome, a commitment to taking small steps forward with the purpose of collecting feedback and learning. It’s an Experiment + persistence.” How many times have you started, then stopped, a plan. Michael outlines the steps to take to do meaningful work. Prefer the Kindle version? Buy How to Begin Kindle on Amazon.
About the book: “Sparks are the doers, thinkers, innovators, and key influencers who are catalysts for personal and organizational change. But these extraordinary individuals aren’t defined by the place they hold on an organizational chart—they are defined by their actions, commitment, and will.” Prefer the Kindle version? Buy Sparks Kindle. Prefer hardcover? Buy Sparks Hardcover.
About the book: “Explorers depend on the North Star when there are no other landmarks in sight. The same relationship exists between you and your right life, the ultimate realization of your potential for happiness. I believe that a knowledge of that perfect life sits inside you just as the North Star sits in its unaltering spot.” (Martha Beck) Prefer Kindle? Buy North Star Kindle. Or, purchase the North Star Hardcover.
About the book: I have so many passages underlined in Finding Your Way Home: A Soul Survival Kit by Melody Beattie! It’s a keeper forever. Prefer the Kindle version? Buy Finding Your Way Home Kindle.