I’ve just started digging into Atomic Habits by James Clear, and it’s already evident that there’s a lot here applicable to music education. Consider:
Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.
From Atomic Habits by James Clear, p.18
Performance is a lagging indicator of practice, which is one of the reasons why it’s so hard for students to motivate themselves to develop a practice regimen. It’s almost impossible to see the positive effects of practice on any given day.
Learning to practice anyway, even if you can’t feel the results, is a key to long term success.