03 December 08

ISO 7500 more hours

I heard about this theory of Malcolm Gladwell’s which relates to success in a given field to luck to have an opportunity and really, really, really hard work to get there.

I firmly believe that people have some innate interests that make them more suited to one job over another. But I think this interest just means that people are willing to overlook their mistakes and try harder and for longer. And that is what a portion of his book is about. Trying harder and for longer. About 10,000 hours, to be exact. If you’re able to spend 10,000 hours doing something, you better like it or at least find some enjoyment in it.

I am probably underestimating that I’ve spent 2500 hours in the past 5 years sewing. But I feel like I’m about a 1/4 to where I want to be skill-wise. (My mom often said I was too hard on myself. We’ll leave that theory for later.) And I’m okay thinking that in the next 7500 hours I’m going to be doing really, really well. I mean 2500 hours sounds like a lot, but its only 10 hours a week. If I spend 25 hours a week, I can be there in 6 years. Okay, maybe that is depressing. But it doesn’t sound hopeless. I know that if I look at where I am now and look at something I made even a year ago, I’m thrilled with how much better it is now. Things that seemed horrible, awful, stress-inducing events now are enjoyable.

So I like this theory. Almost enough so I wish I had a time clock in my sewing studio so I could punch in and out and find out how much time I do spend working on this. Maybe my mom is right and I am too hard on myself.

Comments

  1. Great post. The theory totally resonates with me, since this year I lucked into an opportunity when Anne-Marie discovered my blog. Then came, by my guesstimate 1,000 hours of work to date, which has opened a lot of other doors. So I guess I have my down payment on those 10k hours.

    I think of it kinda like those martial arts people who can break boards and stuff. Concentrated force in a small area can yield amazing results.

    Of course, it also makes me think a) how unfocused I’ve been in the past, and b) how much credit goes to my wife for handling everything else while I push on to ever deeper realms of geekery.

    — Mike Rankin on Dec 4, 08:57 am

  2. i think your mom being right about that is probably a given. but better that you’re hard on yourself than other people being hard on you. right? that’s my theory on the matter at least.

    plus if you think about it, you are already at the point that someone else’s 10,000 hours would get them. you’re reaching for the stars, girl.

    — carolyn on Dec 11, 12:43 pm

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