Practice Doesn't Make Perfect; it Makes Permanent

I used to wear bright pink lipstick all the time. The first time I smeared Revlon's Berry Burst lipstick on, I was at the makeup counter at the drugstore. When the sales lady squealed, it looks amazing on you; I was sold.

I wore it religiously every day, for five years. One day a friend pointed out, the color isn't flattering on me, and it's very out of date. I was shocked, why didn't anyone tell me? A quick survey of my best friends suggested that for years they have trying to tell me how hideous it looked,  but I refused to listen. 

I went back recently and looked at photos and realized it's a horrible color, yet for years, I couldn't start my day without it.

As a motivational speaker, I speak about change a lot and what comes up over and over is how most people become blind to routine patterns. They think they are reliable and consistent, just leave them alone.

The pink lipstick reminds me how in organizations, something can be glaringly obvious to an outsider, but to people who work there, they don't even see it anymore. 

Customers can roll their eyes and complain because they spot an apparently bad procedure, but nobody hears. That same process has been in place for so long; we wouldn't event think of changing it. It's become a permanent way to operate. 

Permanent doesn't mean perfect. 

Just because it was a good idea at one time doesn't mean it is every time. A burden to our agility and ability to adapt are the patterns we can't even recognize anymore. 

If you practice something over and over, it becomes permanent, but it may not be the perfect solution. What was once unique and better is now a crutch. 

 People and our patterns become like pink lipstick, what once seemed perfect is now permanent. Trouble is the environment has changed, we have changed, and it's no longer a fit. 

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