That's how much practice Malcolm Gladwell says it takes to master a skill.
Assuming his logic is halfway correct, I am proud to announce that I have hereby mastered the following skills:
1. Sleeping
2. Working
3. Reading
4. Eating
5. Multi-tasking (ie. work + read, sleep + read, eat + read ... you get the picture)
And Gladwell must be right, because I am exceptionally good at all of the above activities. Unfortunately, sleeping, working, reading, and eating does not a fulfilling life make.
But as of late ... it has been my life.
I expect that you have a similar list. And a similar problem.
Weekdays, I work from 8 to 4, then tutor for another 2-4 hours a night. I trundle my tired body home, kiss my sweetie on his furry cheek (darn beard), eat a quick supper, and curl up on the couch with a good book. I also try to spend quality time with my ever-patient husband, take the dog for a walk, and even keep the house from looking like it's been trashed by a horde of angry zombies (who have a propensity for leaving dirty dishes on the counter and dirty laundry strewn about the floor).
But by the time my brain is relaxed, so are my eyelids, and I brush my teeth and slide between cold sheets and double-check my alarm to make sure I'll wake up in time to do it all again tomorrow.
If I could have one wish granted (by a genie, fairy godmother, or other such benign, magical, wish-granting being), it would be for more time. More hours in a day. More days in a year.
Money would be nice too - but only because it would allow me to reduce my responsibilities and free up more time.
Odd, isn't it?
Unlike a paycheck, the time we spend today won't be doled out again next Friday.
Each hour is unique and unrepeatable.
And a minute spent today is a minute spent forever.
You'd think everyone on the planet would be extremely careful about how we spend the days that snowball into years and decades .... and lifetimes. Because how is life measured, if not in time?
But our most precious resource is also one of the easiest things to waste.
I'm not knocking TV laughs or social media or relaxing on the couch with a smartphone and a hot cuppa Joe. Because a regimented, guilt-filled life is as much a waste as one spent chasing pleasure and novelty without a thought for tomorrow.
And goodness knows there are seasons of work or sorrow, when lackluster days stretch long into wakeful nights and we trudge through life in heavy boots and blinding snow ... until the storm ends and the sun shines bright in a blue sky.
But it's easier to creep Facebook than to meet a friend for coffee.
Easier to to watch Hoarders than to tackle spring cleaning.
Easier to open an app than to read the Bible.
I am almost halfway through this blog-project ... and more conscious than ever of how quickly time can slip through your fingers. While I am experiencing moderate success - two completed paintings in the last month and two more slotted for the coming weeks - I still find it difficult to use wisely what time I have.
And I ask you as I ask myself ...
How will you choose spend your next 10 000 hours*?
Of the time available to you, will you master the art of loving those closest to you?
Will you pursue a hobby or passion that has long been calling your name?
Will you carve out of your busy day time to practice what is important?
I know I will at least try.
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| My painting for the Isaac's Way spring art auction. |
* 416 days - about the same length of time as it's been since I started this blog.
