The days are starting to get warmer as we move from late-spring into summer. Of course in Michigan that means we might start seeing 60 degrees consistently.
It also means more beach walks for the family.
On one of the more recent ones, my daughter was running around trying to find all of the coolest looking rocks. She usually does this with the intent to throw them back in the lake.
Which is fine. She’s two.
Although on this particular day I was trying to stop her from throwing specific “rocks” back in the water.
While we were searching for unique stones, we kept finding pieces of beach glass.
If you don’t know what beach glass is—it’s basically glass from broken bottles and windows that found its way into the lake. Over time it becomes softened and slightly rounded by continued waves of water and sand.
This softness gives the glass an appearance of a colorful and slightly see-through rock.
As I was combing the beach, walking along the water, I continued to notice how these pieces of softened glass stand out.
It was easiest to see when I took a general glance at an area of stones.
Beach glass is formed under pressure—over and over again—until it becomes something unique that stands out from the other rocks.
If we spend long periods of time—years even—dedicated to a craft, would we stand out in a crowd?
We don’t even have to focus on anything new or unique. We could just use our own general skillset and work on that, again and again. Maybe we’re learning a new skill, refining a skill we already have, or working on ourselves as a person.
No matter the goal or ambition, the more pressure we put on ourselves to perfect something over time, the better we become at it.
Eventually we just become adept in that area of our lives. That’s the hope anyway.
Think about the way a surfer, painter, or a woodworker gets better at their craft. There’s no real secret sauce. They do it. Then they do it again. And again.
They may read some books or pick up different techniques along the way—and maybe they have some physical ability that the average person doesn’t—but without practice, they will only progress so far.
This can show us the importance of repetition. The importance of consistency. Sometimes the difference between “I can’t” and “I did” is more pressure. More discipline. More reps.
When the beach glass is done being tossed around in the waves and sanded down in the rocks, it becomes a type of keepsake. Something you show people when they come over. They might even marvel at it, “oh that’s cool!”
If you apply enough pressure and discipline to something for a long period of time, you too might have something worth marveling at.
Think about your own life. Have you been refining a skill or have a certain expertise that is not common to the average person? How has it served you in your life?