To Improve Performance: Spend Time, Not Money
Many commercials and advertisement on sports or hobby products would like us to believe that we can purchase performance. Buy that new camera, and you’ll take action shots a la National Geographic. Put on that new pair of running shoes and you can leave the other runners in the dust. And if you get this set of top-of-the-line cookware, your dishes will be as good as Julia Child’s.
There aren’t any national campaign for tango shoes that I know of, but even without the presence of commercials, I’m not immune to the concept of performance for purchase.
Lately, I’ve been looking at some tango shoes even though I have a perfectly good pair that I’m dancing in. A new pair of shoes will be so lovely, I tell myself, they will make me feel more confident on the dance floor. They will be more comfortable. They will make me a better dancer.
Then I think of the best tango dancer I’ve seen at practices and milongas. She is lithe and elegant. Her movements are by turn graceful and sharp, and she has never want for dance partners. She wears plain black heels that you can tell have been through hundreds of hours of practice. Confidence on the dance floor, I realize, cannot be purchased. This lady’s confidence has been developed through all the time she has invested in dancing, not from shoes, new or otherwise.
Every hobby has specialized equipment that enthusiasts need. The key is to keep your equipment that’s appropriate for your budget, performance, and interest. A dancer needs special shoes. Golfers need golf clubs. Yogis need mats. Cyclists need bikes.
But… new dance shoes will not make you a more graceful dancer. More expensive golf clubs might not make you a stronger golfer. Better bicycles might not make you a faster cyclists. Brand-name yoga mats definitely do not make you a more flexible yogi.
Before you spend the money on newer or additional equipment, evaluate if the money would be better spent on more lessons or training instead. There’s just no substitute for practice, practice, practice. So today, I will refrain from new tango shoes, and will go to an extra class instead.
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19 Responses to “To Improve Performance: Spend Time, Not Money”
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I Need a New JobSeptember 7, 2010
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I've always been confused as to exactly how those commercials work, especially the ones that tell men that if they wear a certain cologne they will get the ladies. How can someone NOT see that there are other factors besides a basketball player wearing Nike sneakers or a a woman or a woman drinking a certain type of drink that will influence a particular event? I guess it doesn't matter because those ad campaigns have worked since forever.
Hhaha I like those commercials. Done well, they really are works of art. I'm also secretly hoping for a tango shoes commercial. Show me a new pair of satin stilettos and figures twirling around the dance floor, and I probably won't be able to resist.
This post really strikes a cord with me.
I'm a snowboarder and admittedly, I can be a big jerk sometimes.
That being said, I think it's funny when people spend hundreds of dollars on new gear thinking that it'll make them perform better on the slopes and then are completely perplexed when they realize all they need to do is snowboard more often. Haha.
Right on!
LOL. I know someone who takes AMAZING pictures. He has a $1K dSLR. But he got started taking pictures with cheap point & clicks. He said that if you can't take good pictures with cheap cameras, you can't take good pictures with expensive cameras. A great camera does not a great photographer make. If I were to pick up his camera, I wouldn't have the expertise or the knowledge to use it to it's fullest extent.
Snowboarding sounds really cool – I've never done it but I've been watching Shaun White on TV!
What!?!?! Have I been going about this all wrong? Wearing camouflage snow pants and "Don't Snitch" t-shirts along with throwing around: sick, wicked, dope, epic aren't going to make me better?
I sniff out out this fraud like a hound dog.
Hahaha. Sorry you gotta find out like this.
Btw, thanks for coming by and commenting!
Great post. I was in a similar quandry recently regarding a hobby, and I also decided doing was more important than stuff.
Well said! I think there is an urge to short-cut mastery of skills (like dancing, photography, etc.) but it simply can't be done.
By the way-have you heard the song Tango Shoes by Bif Naked? Your post made me start singing it in my head…totally random thought, sorry…
I haven't, but you know that's the next song I'm youtube-ing!
This is the problem I have with golf. I know that the clubs I have a crap and I really want new ones. The problem is that I don't pay enough golf to be any good, yet I think if I get new clubs I have to get better. It's been a couple years though and I still haven't justified buying the new clubs. I will treat myself to them someday though. This might be the year. I'll use it as an incentive to play more golf.
Hey there – thanks for coming by and commenting! Incentives are so important… Are you going to set a goal for X number of hours or a score to achieve before you buy your new clubs? The thing about tango is that it's easy to see the difference between "good" dancers and "bad" dancers, but there's really no objective way to measure one's level. Maybe I'll give myself another year or two before I get new shoes.
This is really true — a lot of us have more money that time, and it is easier to buy a better "toy" than practice our crafts. And we're taught to use our money/purchase to express who we are and what we like. If we really like X, shouldn't we have top of the line X equipment?
That being said, good gear can make a difference. An average photograph often does really look better just with a better camera. But if you want to actually be good, you have to practice.
WellHeeled. Really LOVE analogies. Any time you can bring life examples into PF – it becomes such an obviously clear answer. Do you need to pay higher expense fees for better fund performance? Does doing your own research beat out paying for subscriptions upon subscriptions? You bet!
¡Baila Baila Baila!
Added you to my blog-roll!
Great, thanks & Congratulations on being a finalist!