I Thought 10,000 Hours Was Enough
20 Hours sounds better
They say nothing worthwhile comes easy, that skills of value will take time to cultivate, and that time and effort determine how far one goes to achieve great heights. I totally agree with this notion; however, there are far more incredible individuals who not only agree but also push the idea that the road to mastery is long and arduous.
I decided to get serious about writing a few months ago, and this writing thing has taken a bit of time just to get momentum going. However, my writing journey didn't start a few months ago either.
I realized that I have been writing since I was a kid, around 9 years old, when I first remember writing, and it continued until I graduated from college. I wasn't thinking of capitalizing on my work, nor do I recall wanting to become a writer, but I have always really enjoyed putting words together.
In the book Daily Laws by Robert Greene, on the page dedicated to January 1st and January 2nd, the passages ask you to “Find your Calling” and “Reconnect with your childhood obsession”.
What a start to a book, that’s when it clicked to me, and that’s why I started doing what I do right now. My obsession was always with words and crafting them, and my calling was probably to share them with you.
Words affect me like any other form of art. The way you look at and perceive a painting is probably different from how I view it, and that’s because we have different experiences and traumas; we are simply unique. Similarly, the emotions and feelings I develop while reading someone's poetry are different from anyone else's, and I truly find beauty in that.
I aim to really master this craft even though it took longer for me to reconnect with it, I am willing to pour my heart out by doing it because it really is something I enjoy doing, I don't care how much hours and reps I put in, as long as I get better along the way I will be satisfied.
How long really, is the road to mastery?
There’s a book called Outliers written by Malcolm Gladwell, in here we can learn how long and how much time one must dedicate to achieve mastery, and this idea was birthed by the research of Anders Ericsson.
Ericsson’s research came up with the number 10,000. That's 10,000 hours of deliberate practice and training; the amount of time that could make someone an expert in a certain field.
That's a long time.
If you are a working man who dedicates 2 hours a day to a skill you pursue, this is what it will look like to achieve Mastery.
10,000 Hours = 416 days
10,000 hours = 1250 8-hour workdays
10,000 hours = 5000 2-hour days of practice
5000 days = 13.699 years
1 year has 365/366 days
1 year has 8760 hours
It looks totally ridiculous, but somehow it makes sense. In Jiu-jitsu, for instance, the path of an athlete from a white belt to back belt is usually 10 years or more, apart from a few individuals, of course.
A Doctoral degree from a baccalaureate takes between 7 to 10 years.
These are but a few examples of quantifiable pursuits that people pursue, but there are more things in life that people try to achieve that are immeasurable.
Do we really need 10,000?
Josh Kaufman has a different approach towards mastery and skill acquisition, but before we go there, here are important things to remember about Ericsson’s work.
The number 10,000 is a useful rule of thumb; it should not be the only thing we aim for, and surpassing 10,000 won’t make you more than a master.
Certain factors like talent, mental/emotional stability, access to resources and methods of training all play a role on the amount of time to achieve mastery.
He also emphasized that innate talent does not significantly increase or decrease the amount of time towards mastery, but rather, effort, proper guidance and discipline are far more valuable.
Josh Kaufman stated that Ericsson’s research was focused on the extremes, the top of the top in an ultra-competitive field, since that was the case, it would really take 10,000 hours just to be a part of an already competitive field, and to be a master at that, will probably take even more.
He then explained that to master a certain task you first must learn it.
Skill acquisition
When we start something new, it usually takes a long time before we become proficient. This is because we are still unfamiliar with the task. Most of us will be terrible in the beginning, and sometimes that's why people quit. However, when you start and realize you are grossly incompetent, that’s where the learning curve begins.
The more practice you put in, the better you get, but it also becomes harder as you improve.
The early part of practice is important, even though it’s inefficient, because we eventually become skilled with just a little bit of practice. We just need to start.
Kaufman then adds, “From knowing nothing to knowing something, it takes 20 hours of focused deliberate practice.”
That’s less than a day, that’s 2 hours a day in less than two weeks or 1 hour in less than a month. Focus and practice deliberately and you will eventually master a skill.
This is why hobbies are important and fun. If we think about it, snowboarding is a skill, skateboarding, jiujitsu and even lifting weights are considered athletic endeavors, how come we don’t think of it as a sacrifice? That's because for things we care about for ourselves, we don't care about time, we only care how good we get, we just go out there and do it. If we have the same fervor and energy towards things that we really try to achieve, it won't matter how long, what matters is, that we are getting better.
Quality and Depth
Robert Greene, while he recognizes the value of deliberate practice, he does not necessarily adhere to the 10,000-hour rule. Greene is much keener in the quality and focus of practice, which includes the need for mentorship and deep emotional investment.
He emphasizes that the key to Mastery is not just spending the time to practice putting in the hours, but rather the depth of your training.
Here are some of my favorites from his book: Mastery
Deliberate Practice: Train and practice with purpose, improve on specific skills that are instrumental toward your goals. Identify your weaknesses, strengthen them, and fortify specific skills you're already good at.
Apprenticeship is also part of your training. Robert Greene highlights seeking mentors if you don’t already have one. They will guide you and provide you with potent advice that is seasoned and robust. The number 10,000 will be cut in half because there are two people working towards it, you and your mentor.
Emotional Investment, belief in yourself, your chosen path and deep connection to your obsession will provide you with relentless commitment towards your craft, This investment is what turns long hours of practice into a transformative journey.
The Mastery curve, realizing and accepting that the road towards mastery is not linear, the process involves pushing through the upward battles, the plateaus and dull moments, and slowing down when you're moving too fast, that’s where the magic happens, that’s where great things begin or end.
There might be mixed opinions about the concept of 10,000 hours, but most agree that the quality of practice and the methods employed in training are more important than just the passage of time. Mastery requires effort no doubt, but by practicing deliberately, intelligently, with tenacity and emotional investment, one could argue that 10,000 hours will be a mere number with no importance.