Practise Makes Permanent, Not Perfect
“Practise makes perfect” is a comforting idea. It suggests that if we just keep going, keep doing, keep repeating, excellence will eventually arrive.
But it is only half true.
Practise does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent.
Whatever you repeat, you reinforce.
Whatever you reinforce, you embed.
And whatever you embed becomes your default.
So the real question is not, are you practising?
It is, what exactly are you practising?
With clinicians, I see this every day.
A clinician repeats the same conversations, the same explanations, the same patterns of behaviour… and feels the same frustration.
Low case acceptance.
Time pressure.
An ever-increasing sense of anxiety.
In practice ownership, I see this every day.
The same recruitment decisions, the same financial habits, the same leadership patterns… repeated month after month, year after year… and the same frustrations remain.
Struggling to find the right team.
Cash flow pressure despite working harder than ever.
A team that feels disconnected or not quite aligned.
A constant underlying weight of responsibility.
The results are not a symptom of not working hard enough.
Not a sign of a lack of capability.
They are the result of the behaviour and mindset patterns being repeated—patterns that are not producing the outcomes you want.
There is a quote often attributed to Einstein: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insanity.
In practice, it is anxiety that is the product of doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
You stay busy.
You become quicker.
You become more efficient.
But here is the uncomfortable truth:
Efficiency is not the same as effectiveness.
You can become incredibly good at doing the wrong thing… faster.
Pause for a moment.
What are you doing every single day, repeatedly, without questioning it?
- The way you greet patients
- The way you explain treatment
- The way you handle objections
- The way you structure your appointments
Are these habits actually getting you to the outcome you want?
What are you doing every single day in your practice, repeatedly, without ever stopping to question it?
- The way you recruit and onboard your team
- The way you review your numbers and manage your finances
- The way you lead, communicate, and set expectations
- The way you run meetings and hold people accountable
Are these habits truly moving your practice forward… or are they simply well-rehearsed routines that feel familiar?
If the outcome is not changing, it suggests the process must.
What would shift if, before you spoke, you asked yourself:
- What outcome do I want here?
- How far away from that outcome am I?
- What might I need to do differently?
This is where real growth begins.
Not in doing more.
But in doing differently.
Yes, it may feel unfamiliar at first. Even uncomfortable.
That is not a sign you are getting it wrong. It is a sign you are interrupting an old pattern.
Perfection, if it exists at all, is not the result of repetition alone.
It is the result of intentional repetition.
Of practising the right things.
In the right way.
With the right focus.
So perhaps it is time to let go of “practise makes perfect”.
And replace it with something far more useful:
Practise makes permanent. So choose carefully what you are making permanent.
If you would like to achieve a different result as a clinician or practice owner and are unsure what to change or how to change it, this is where coaching becomes so valuable.
Coaching is a thinking space. A place to:
Reflect. Reconsider. Rebuild.
- Reflect – What are you currently doing on repeat, and what results is it actually giving you?
- Reconsider – Is this the most effective way, or simply the most familiar?
- Rebuild – What needs to change so your actions truly align with the outcomes you want?
If you would like to have a conversation with Jane, please book online at:
www.iodb.co.uk
