Do you belong to a choir, band, or sports team? Do you regularly attend practice, or do you go whenever you feel like it? You need to go regularly. Why?

One reason to go to practice regularly is because it will make you better. You and your group can work together to become a better group. Choir members can work on making beautiful music together. When the time comes for a concert, each member of the choir will know the music. Team members can work on their plays. That way, the team can be ready for the next game. If everyone is on the ball, and the team members communicate effectively, they might win the game.

Another reason to attend practice regularly is because it will keep you in the loop. You will be able to become friends with the other group members and keep up with what is going on in their lives. If you know that a member of the choir is a college junior who recently took a psychology test, for example, you can ask her how it went. Another member of the group may have started publishing articles. You can ask what article he is currently working on.

If you do not attend practice regularly, on the other hand, you will not be prepared. The day will come for your team to play another team in a game. Your teammates will know the plays, because they have practiced them again and again at each practice session. They will be excited, ready, and hoping for a victory. You, on the other hand, will not know the plays. All that you will be able to do is use your knowledge of the game to play the best that you can. If you are in a choir, and you do not attend practice regularly, you will not know the music. The rest of the choir will be singing, and you will be standing there on the riser, wishing that you knew the songs. It will be awkward and embarrassing, and you may wish that you could just disappear. Performance reasons are not the only reason to attend practice regularly, however.

Choirs, bands, and sports teams are not just music or athletic organizations. They are also social organizations. If you do not attend practice regularly, it will be difficult to make friends. You may feel like an outsider. Any time that you do get together will likely be uncomfortable, because so much as happened since you last got together.

Make a commitment to yourself to attend practice regularly. You will be an asset to your group, and they will be glad to have you with them. You will also be happier.