Practice Makes Perfect? I Respectfully Disagree

Practice Makes Perfect poem illustration featuring books, tea, sketchbook, plant, and the title “Practice Makes Perfect?” by Nihshabd.

They say,

“Practice makes perfect.”

.

I would like to respectfully disagree.

.

Still Waiting for the User Manual😌

I’ve been practicing adulthood
for quite some time now,

and I still occasionally walk into a room

and forget why I went there.

.

Mirror vs Camera: An Ongoing Feud 😒

I’ve practiced taking selfies.

Hundreds of them.

Yet somehow,

the person in the mirror
and the person in the photo

continue to be complete strangers.

.

Love, Water, Sunlight… and Drama 🎭

I’ve practiced gardening too.

The internet says:

“Give plants sunlight, water, and love.”

I did.

The plant responded by dying.

Meanwhile,

a neglected plant growing from a crack in the pavement

is absolutely thriving.

.

Explain that.

.

One Eye Understands the Assignment🤯

I’ve practiced drawing.

Which mostly means

spending hours creating something beautiful

and then noticing one tiny mistake

that suddenly becomes

the only thing I can see.

.

A Pinch of Hope, A Dash of Panic 😱

I’ve practiced cooking.

And every time I make a recipe,

there’s still a brief moment

when I stare into the pan

and hope for divine intervention.

.

The Perfect Reply Arrives Three Days Later 😪

I’ve practiced conversations.

Yet I still remember things

I should have said

three days ago.

Usually while showering.

When it is far too late.

.

The Password and I Are No Longer Speaking 🤭

I’ve also practiced creating passwords.

Strong passwords.

Unique passwords.

Passwords with capital letters,

small letters,

numbers,

symbols,

and what feels like

a personal sacrifice to the technology gods.

And yet,

every login still begins with:

“Incorrect password.”

Followed by:

“Forgot Password?”

which feels less like a question

and more like a judgment.

.

Practice makes perfect?

Really?

.

Because from what I’ve observed,

practice mostly makes us

slightly less confused than before.

And even that’s not guaranteed.

.

The funny thing is,

the people I admire most

aren’t perfect at all.

They’re the ones who keep trying.

The ones who laugh at their mistakes.

The ones who accidentally send messages too early,

water the wrong plant,

burn the toast,

miss the turn,

make the typo,

and somehow continue living

as if the world hasn’t ended.

Which, surprisingly,

it hasn’t.

.

So perhaps the proverb needs an update.

.

Practice doesn’t make perfect.

Practice makes stories.

.

It gives us the embarrassing moments,

the unexpected detours,

the inside jokes,

the lessons,

and occasionally,

if we’re very lucky,

a little wisdom.

.

Because perfection is impressive.

But imperfection?

Imperfection is relatable.

It’s the selfie that took fifty tries.

The recipe that looked nothing like the picture.

The plant that survived purely out of stubbornness.

The sketch with one slightly suspicious-looking hand.

The password we reset yesterday

and forgot today.

And if we’re being honest,

most of us don’t need another perfect person to admire.

We just need proof

that everyone else is making it up as they go along too.

And after years of practice,

that’s the one thing I’ve finally become good at:

.

Looking perfectly confident…

while having absolutely no idea what I’m doing. 😄🌷✨

.

With love,

—Rajeshwari 🧿💕

© Nihshabd by Rajeshwari. All Rights Reserved

Comments

45 responses to “Practice Makes Perfect? I Respectfully Disagree”

  1. Prem Kumar Avatar

    Somewhat Practice doesn’t make perfect.

    Practice makes stories.,…..

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words. 💗🙏

  2. Aptivi Avatar
    Aptivi

    Good morning, Rajeshwari! ☀️

    Practice means making stories and gives us embarrassing moments, lessons, and so on, not making perfect. You’re right 👍

    Today, the weather is warm, so we’ll need to stay hydrated and cool. The next week is expected to be sweltering hot, with the maximum of 35°C in a sunny noon. 🥵

    Enjoy your awesome weekend as you are! ☺️

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Good Afternoon! ☀️ Thank you for your thoughtful words. 😊 Yes, practice may not make us perfect, but it certainly gives us stories, lessons, and memories to cherish. 🤍
      And that sounds quite hot indeed! Take care, stay cool, and have a wonderful weekend too. 🌸

      1. Aptivi Avatar
        Aptivi

        You’re most welcome ☺️

        You’re right 👍 Practice, indeed, gives us memories to cherish 💜

        Thank you so much, Rajeshwari! You too, take care and stay cool 🌸

  3. Glowith – Glow Every Day, Grow Every Way Avatar

    So true! 😊 Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes us wiser, stronger, and gives us stories worth sharing. Beautiful post. 🌷✨

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you so much Maha🤍 I’m happy the thought spoke to you. After all, the stories we gather along the way are often more precious than perfection itself. 🌷✨

  4. SRIKANTH Avatar

    What a beautiful, hilarious, and deeply wise piece of writing. You’ve turned “practice makes perfect” on its head and revealed the much messier, lovelier truth: practice makes us — flawed, trying, laughing, forgetting passwords, burning toast, and somehow still showing up.

    Your line about looking perfectly confident while having no idea what you’re doing? That’s not failure. That’s grace. And you’ve clearly practiced it to perfection. 😄

    Thank you for this gem.

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you so much for such a thoughtful and generous response. 💗 You understood the spirit of the piece perfectly. 😊
      I loved your line, “practice makes us” flawed, trying, laughing, and still showing up. That’s exactly what I was hoping to capture. And yes, sometimes looking confident while being completely unsure may be one of life’s most useful skills! 😄
      Your kind words truly made my day. 🌷✨

      1. SRIKANTH Avatar

        You are most welcome Rajeshwari 🌺🤝

  5. datta Avatar

    Appreciable.

    🌝

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you so much for this wonderful response. 💗 Your words are far more polished than the person who still forgets passwords and occasionally burns toast! 😄

      I truly appreciate the care with which you read and interpreted the piece. Knowing that its humour and message resonated with you is the greatest compliment a writer can receive. 🌷✨

  6. Kevin James Wholley Avatar
    Kevin James Wholley

    Really cool and perfect. I hate that saying. I practiced things so much and never became close to even horrible.

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you! 😄 I think many of us can relate to that. Perhaps practice doesn’t always make perfect it just gives us plenty of experience, a few bruised egos, and hopefully a good sense of humour along the way. 🌷

  7. vermavkv Avatar

    What a delightful and relatable piece! 😄

    I thoroughly enjoyed the humor woven through everyday experiences—from forgotten room missions and rebellious houseplants to passwords that seem determined to outsmart us. Your observations are both funny and wonderfully human.

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you so much Verma ji! 😊 I’m delighted you enjoyed it. It seems forgotten room missions, stubborn passwords, and houseplants with strong opinions are experiences many of us share. 😄🌱 Your kind words truly made me smile. 🌷✨

  8. SRIKANTH Avatar

    What a joy this was to read. Truly. ✨

    You’ve taken a tired old proverb, turned it upside down, shaken it until the humor fell out, and handed it back glowing with truth. The password section? I felt that in my soul. The plant thriving in pavement while your watered, loved one perishes? A modern parable.

    But the line that stayed with me was this: “We just need proof that everyone else is making it up as they go along too.”

    Yes. That’s the real secret, isn’t it? Not mastery. Just companionship in the beautiful mess.

    Thank you for the laugh, the nod of recognition, and the gentle permission to stop trying to be perfect and start collecting better stories instead. You’ve clearly practiced this whole “being human” thing quite well. 😄🌷

    Keep walking into rooms and forgetting why. Keep burning toast. We need more writers like you in the kitchen.

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you Srikanth ji for such a generous and beautifully written comment. 🌷
      I smiled all the way through it, especially at the idea of shaking an old proverb until the humor fell out. 😄
      And yes, perhaps that really is the secret not mastery, but companionship in the beautiful mess. The comfort of discovering that most of us are navigating life with equal parts hope, guesswork, and misplaced confidence.
      I’m delighted the piece resonated with you. Thank you for reading it so thoughtfully and for adding a few wonderful lines of your own to the conversation. 🤍✨
      And don’t worry I fully intend to keep walking into rooms and forgetting why. At this point, it’s less a flaw and more a personality trait. 😄

  9. debdancingstarhawken7 Avatar

    Great blog but practising adulthood will stay with me forever.

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you! 😊 I have a feeling we’re all still practising adulthood and hoping nobody asks to see our qualifications. 😄🌷✨

      1. debdancingstarhawken7 Avatar

        That’s as epic as the comment. And yes exactly.

      2. nihshabdblog Avatar

        Thank you! I had a feeling the comment deserved a response worthy of the post. Glad we’re on the same page. 🌷✨

      3. debdancingstarhawken7 Avatar

        We clearly are

  10. WriterRashidasWorld Avatar

    I love your humour. Hilarious.
    I was laughing through out. Thanks for sharing.

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you so much! 😊 I’m delighted it made you laugh. If it brought a few smiles and a little laughter to your day, then it has done its job. 🌷😄✨

  11. Kashmir Bairwa Avatar

    Very nice 👍

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you so much! 😊 I’m glad you enjoyed it✨

  12. Rupali Avatar

    😊🪄

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Aww, thank you so much Rupali. 😊✨🌷

      1. Rupali Avatar

        💕

  13. Nageshwar singh Avatar

    All the points are complete in themselves 👌👌 nice post ❤️

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you! 😊 I’m glad each point found its own little place with you. 🤍✨

  14. Vijay Srivastava Avatar

    Dear Rajeshwari Ji,🙏

    This piece is not merely humorous; it is a beautiful celebration of human imperfection. With remarkable ease and warmth, you have dismantled the illusion that the purpose of life is to become “perfect.”

    As I read, it seemed that every episode the forgotten room, the withered plant, the burnt toast, the incorrect password served as a small metaphor for life itself, reminding us that struggle and uncertainty are not flaws but signs of our shared humanity.

    What touched me most was the thought that practice does not make us perfect; rather, it enriches us with experiences, stories, and a little wisdom along the way.

    The truth is, the world needs not more perfect people, but more people who can smile at their imperfections and continue moving forward with grace.

    Thank you for this thoughtful, heartfelt, and delightfully uplifting piece. It made me smile, reflect, and appreciate the beauty of being imperfect.

    Warm congratulations and best wishes. 🌹

    Vijay

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Thank you so much Vijay ji for this thoughtful and generous comment. 🌹 I’m especially touched that you saw beyond the humor and connected with the deeper idea behind it. Life has a wonderful way of reminding us that perfection is rarely the goal; sometimes simply showing up, making mistakes, and collecting stories along the way is enough.
      I loved your observation that the world needs more people who can smile at their imperfections. I think that may be one of the kindest gifts we can give ourselves and each other.
      Thank you again for reading so carefully and for sharing such encouraging reflections. Your words are truly appreciated. 🙏🌷✨

  15. Joey Jones Avatar
    Joey Jones

    💫💫💫

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      🤍🤍✨

  16. daneelyunus Avatar

    No one perfect person in the world so practice not make perfect. Agree with you 👍

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      I agree. Practice doesn’t make perfect; it makes progress. We’re all imperfect, and that’s what makes us human. 😊✨

      1. daneelyunus Avatar

        😊👍

  17. VNITHIN Avatar

    Yes its a fact 🥰🥰🥰🥰

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      So true! 🥰 Every small step of practice adds up to something wonderful over time. ✨

  18. Lalitha Avatar

    “Looking perfectly confident…

    while having absolutely no idea what I’m doing. 😄🌷✨”

    Jai ho! Aapki is confidence ki jai ho Rajeshwariji!… I have absolutely no clue why this reminds me of Rajesh Khanna and his trademark hand gesture!

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      😂😂 Jai ho indeed!
      Now that you’ve mentioned it, I can absolutely picture the Rajesh Khanna hand gesture full confidence, charming smile, and not the faintest idea what’s happening behind the scenes! 😄✨

      Perhaps that’s been my secret strategy all along: look confident, smile warmly, and hope life doesn’t ask too many follow-up questions. 🌸🤣

  19. Lalitha Avatar

    A big 👍🏾 to the “hope life doesn’t ask too many follow up questions!” I need it desperately. My perimenopausal brain fog absolutely needs it.. its perpetually stuck in, “Wait what? Come again!” mode! I will surely be following this secret stratagy from now on.

    1. nihshabdblog Avatar

      Haha! 🤭 Welcome to the club! My strategy works wonderfully right up until life starts asking for details, and then I suddenly remember I was never fully briefed on the plan myself. Wishing you fewer follow-up questions and plenty of grace for those “Wait… what were we talking about again?” moments! 😄

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