Methods of Preparation

I feel like there are two methods of preparation for an event. 

The first is to be over prepared.  When I had a concert I would diligently practice my part over and over until I knew all of it by heart. Then I would mess with it to see if I could still perform it. Perhaps moving up or down an octave giving it a new sound and body position. Or adding syncopation. Or playing it as fast or as slow as I could. All to shake up what was becoming sedentary in my brain and muscles. These variations ensured I knew the part inside and out. 

This paid off quite well. Inserted restart points helped me get through a difficult piece. Once the piano had a stuck key so throughout the piece I had to pull it back up before striking that note again. Don't ask how I managed. I recall it being an almost reflexive and flawless performance. I also remember someone being quite surprised I pulled it off. These extra layers of preparation meant I was flexible enough and able to freely react to new situations are they arose instead of devoting all of my concentration on execution of the piece.

But these are the foibles of youth. Looking back I realize just how much free time I had to devote to these extra explorations. As I grew older my time shrank, I wanted to do more things, and I started to develop a sense of doing just enough to get by. What was the minimum amount of time I could devote and still have reasonable chances at success. So a relatively rock solid record of completely confident performances segued to usually successful events with the occasional mess up. Slowly I became aware of expectations and nervous sweating or lip shaking snuck into the performances. This is the other method. Prepare consistently and build up enough to make success relatively likely. This is often how physical feats are prepared. Most people I know (i.e. not competitive marathon runners) prepare for a marathon not by running marathons but running shorter distances. At the actual event they push their limits to cross that finish line.

So on one hand you can try to perfect your craft. You ensure that you will succeed by over preparing. By exploring the boundaries of your skills in such a way you build in a safety buffer for mistakes. The event itself then leads to a more natural feeling where expression is the key motivation. Or you can make the event the edge of your reach. Crossing the finish line is the goal, so you devote enough time to succeed even if you trip and stumble a few times.

One obviously takes much more time than the other. If you have the time and drive you can prepare and ensure success. If you don't, or can't devote enough time (it's usually the latter) then we often aim for passing. I wish we had enough time to flourish and thrive. But we don't.

Still, if you are dedicated enough and passionate enough you can still make an art of something. Whether it be making art, musical instruments, or programming code, if you devote enough time to create not just mediocre passing quality but extraordinarily refined pieces then I applaud you. And I am sure the rest of the world will as well.