Thursday, July 2, 2026
In college, my friend Craig and I used to have “practice wars.” These were childish contests to see who could practice the most number of hours in a week. We thought more hours meant more results. He was a piano major and I majored in organ. After a certain number of hours in a day, usually 4, I noticed myself becoming counterproductive.
Young kids have no clue about enough-ness. They don’t realize counterproductive-ness either. Youngsters and unaware adults are constantly over or under. Obesity seems like an overage pandemic. Credit card debt seems to be an underage, or shortage pandemic.
One could argue that the fear of running out, the fear of losing, or the fear of dying is directly responsible for these overinflated perceptions of overage or underage. Fear obscures reality and the competitive mindset destroys you. Reality is simpler, though. It’s recognizing when you’ve had enough. We must recognize saturation or its inverse—gear grinding.
Had I recognized this in myself, I would have given up on such a stupid “practice war.” Why? Competition hasn’t anything to do with quality. Quality is quality. Anything else is a contest and leads to overage or underage – counterproductive-ness, deficits, and disaster.
Are you working against yourself? It’s like that well-meaning guy who offered to help his friend move. He was given the address, he showed up, rolled up his sleeves and got to work moving furniture. His friend said, “Please stop! Stop helping us move in!” Bewildered, the guy replied, “Move in! I thought you were moving out!”
Learn when you are working against yourself. Learn when you are in your own way. When it’s time to quit, quit. If you’re not feeling it, skip it.
You’ll produce quality when enough is enough. Quality control is quantity control.