Today’s topic is on a little something we all know called repetition. The more we do something, the better we get at it, or so the saying goes. If we are being honest, the whole “practice makes perfect” theory really isn’t true, though. If we continue to do something incorrectly, it will never become perfect. The better saying is “perfect practice makes perfect.” Meanwhile, we keep doing things. Repetition. And it adds up.
My mother had me making my bed every morning at an early age. By 5 years old, this was a daily habit. With me now at age 57, I estimate that I have made my bed more nearly 19,000 times. Sleep on that.
I take a shower or bath every day, whether I need to or not. (That’s a joke.) When I am in a cycle of exercising, that number increases. Based on once per day since my birth, I have showered or bathed more than 20,800 times. That’s a lot of soap and water.
I have been brushing my teeth on my own since I was about 5. Doing so twice per day, I have used a toothbrush somewhere in the neighborhood of 38,000 times. Flossing? Not so much.
Like most of you, I have been driving a vehicle since I was 16 years old. On average, I would guess that I start and drive a car about five times per day — maybe more. Even at five times, I have operated a vehicle nearly 75,000 times.
According to one poll, about 40 percent of us check our email between six and 20 times per day. If you are reading this via newsletter email, you can relate. I am on the higher end of the range, but let’s go with an average of 10 times per day. I’ve been using email regularly since about 1995, which is 27 years. When I do the math, I learn that I have checked my email more than 110,000 times — and I discovered that I won an international lottery in about one-third of those emails!
The good news is, I think I am getting better at these and the other tasks I continue to repeat — but I am still not perfect. When my mother used to visit, she would find a wrinkle in my bedspread, and my dentist seems to locate an occasional cavity. And even with all my driving practice, I have still garnered a few speeding tickets. Meanwhile, the practicing for perfection continues. Here we go again.
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707