Read time: 1 min 35 sec

Whatup Reader!

Y’all know I stay on Instagram, feeling no kind of way about the amount of time I spend scrolling through my meticulously curated algorithm.

Last week I got served a Reel from a beach volleyball creator (can’t find the Reel, can’t remember her name, apologies to the woman whose Reel inspired this email that she will never read), and she said something along the lines of, “Playing more is making you worse.”

A bit of a gut-punch, but she’s right. Hear me out.

Winning is a skill, and when you play, you are playing to win, and thus, you are working on that skill. (Don’t even pretend like you’re not playing to win.)

Sometimes that means picking up bad habits in the name of efficiency. Sometimes that looks like survivorship bias that reinforces things that will ultimately limit your growth. Sometimes that looks like confusing luck and strategy.

Either way, while there is of course inherent value in playing, if your goal is to improve a specific skill…well…your best bet is to drill that skill.

My point in sharing this?

Well, mainly I just think it’s a good point that doesn’t get shared that often, and I like to share good things with my good people.

But, you also know that my brain stays thinking in lessons, and I do think there is one here:

Get honest with yourself about what you want, and then get real with yourself about what you need to do if you actually want to achieve it.

Radical honesty, both with yourself and others, is a gift.

It’s totally fine to want things to stay the same. It’s totally fine to want to just play all the time. It’s totally fine to want something completely different.

Where I see people run into trouble is when their actions don’t match their wants, and…well…they’re living in the land of wishes.

Again, all good if you’re into that sort of thing, but it’s a recipe for frustration if your wishes are spelled g-o-a-l-s.

So, play more, play less, the specifics are up to you. Sometimes playing is exactly what you need. Sometimes playing more is making you worse.

Happy Tuesday, Reader.

Maestro out.

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