The brain processes everything we experience and all we do. People who are skilled in any field usually have acquired habits and practices that facilitate their competence.

For example, musicians rehearse because the repetitive act of playing the music over and over quite literally writes information on the brain. As the musician rehearses, the mind evaluates the quality of the performance. If the musician is dissatisfied, she may stop to rehearse the section again. Commonly, musicians will rehearse a few troublesome bars or even a few notes until they master them. As this occurs, the brain records and stores the information. Once the musician arrives at a satisfactory level of performance, she may repeat the section many times to establish the pattern more firmly in the brain, which literally is creating connections that will facilitate the ease of performance and the likelihood of its success.

We see this in virtually every field of endeavor. When a basketball player mimics the motion of his free throw, perhaps several time, before he takes it, he is reinforcing the patterns of motion he has learned, which are stored in his organic brain. Generally, we trust experienced surgeons more than inexperienced surgeons. Teachers gain an assurance after sufficient time in the classroom. Each of two equally experienced chefs usually will out-cook the other in their respective specialty cuisines. A dairy farmer who fails to milk the cows at an established time will find that he has unhappy and unproductive cows.

Thus, habits and practices are no mere arbitrary devices. They reflect how our brains function to facilitate our development. Good habits and practices constitute an indispensable part of the order that is essential to achieving competence and excellence.