Striving for proficiency versus mastery
You’ve probably heard of the 10,000 hour principle.
That is, to master something and achieve excellence, you need to spend about 10,000 hours in diligent practice.
Malcolm Gladwell proposed this principle in his 2008 book, Outliers: The Story of Success.* In this book, he explored the reasons that some people are exceedingly high achievers, to debunk the idea that they achieved just because of some natural giftedness. In other words, it took lots of hard work.
So, how does 10,000 hours break down into something we can understand?
One way of looking at it is that it comes out equal to 250 forty hour work weeks. So if you engage in focused practice eight hours a day, five days a week, by this standard you could master something in about five years. If you worked at it full-time and did little else. And we’re not just talking about clocking time, but rather focused and deliberate engagement, with goals and benchmarks for success.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t find this very encouraging. It would seem that for most people, reaching that kind of mastery and excellence may be possible for only one or two things in a lifetime.
I imagine that this 10k hour principle has kept some people from trying or starting something they might enjoy doing. Being made to feel that unless you can play the cello like Yo-Yo Ma, or ski like Bode Miller, don’t bother to try. There are plenty of motivational experts who urge their followers to either commit to excellence, or don’t do it at all.
Are you ready to commit to 10k hours with everything you try?
Most people won’t devote that kind of time to a hobby.
That is, unless you stretch the hours out over the many years of a lifetime. But hobbies are such mainly because we enjoy doing them as a distraction. We’re not needing or seeking mastery. And yet, some hold back trying something because they think they won’t be “good enough.”
When you think about it, many people actually do put in that kind of time, and more, on their profession or career. If you are in midlife, as many of my readers are, and have worked in a career, discipline or trade for many years, likely you have already put in the time. Congratulations–you may already have attained mastery and excellence in at least one area that is of paramount importance to your life!
In my case, I have worked in adult education of one sort or another for more than 35 years. While there is always more to learn, I can say that I’ve achieved some level of mastery and expertise in this field. It is my life’s work, my career, the way I have made my living for decades. It is important to me to be more than just good enough. I’ve put in the time, the study, and I have the experience to have confidence in my expertise.
On the other hand, I have played the guitar for even longer than that. Since I was in high school, more than 45 years ago. I’m pretty good at it, at least in a limited range of guitar styles that most interest me. But I am nowhere near being a master or an expert, even though over 45 years I likely have put in the 10k hours.
So if I’ve put in the time, why am I not a master guitar player? Why can’t I play like Eric Clapton or Brad Paisley?
Well, I never set out to do that. It is not my career, it is just something I enjoy doing. It reveals that just doing something for 10k hours, by itself, does not create mastery. If it did, then many people would by now be master practitioners of watching television, as adults average around 4-5 hours a day of TV watching!
Gladwell himself indicated that the hours require focused discipline and practice. It may also involve instruction and mentorship. Just logging hours isn’t enough for mastery.
But how many things do we need to “master” in a lifetime? Maybe the one or two areas that become our profession or career. By midlife, you likely have already accomplished that.
So what about other things you may wish to do? So-called “Bucket List” items? Certainly, you don’t need to master them in order to reach some level of enjoyment.
To be proficient, to be “good enough.”
Surely there is something between being a novice and being a 10k hour expert?
Yes, there is.
I read recently, and I don’t remember where, that to be “proficient” at many things only takes about 30 hours.
This is good news for people who want to play a bit of guitar, or learn to ski, or take up photography or fly fishing. Even to learn some conversational basics of a second language. You can actually get pretty good at any of those things by starting from scratch and practicing for 30 hours. Maybe not great, but good enough to enjoy yourself and enrich your life with some new interest. Some things don’t even take 30 hours, and some might need a bit more.
Of course, if it is something you enjoy doing, you’re likely to continue to engage in the activity, just because you enjoy it. And you’ll continue to get better at it over time.
Let’s say after a while you’ve done something for several hundred hours.
At that point you might be considered an accomplished amateur. Not a world-class master, but at least “good enough” or even better. Maybe even good enough to do it as a side-hustle. Or not, and focus instead on the joy it brings.
Most of us in midlife, if we’re in our 40s to 60s, don’t have the time or need to achieve mastery or excellence in something besides our profession. But don’t let the 10k hour principle dissuade you from giving some other things a try.
With only a few hours invested, you can probably become “good enough” to bring some joy to yourself or others.
What would you like to try? What skill to develop? Can you commit to 30 hours of practice? Midlife is NOT too late to develop some new skills and interests. In fact, it’s the best time of life to do so.
And maybe become the World’s Most Interesting Man along the way.
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*Some have pushed back on Gladwell, arguing that the 10k hour principle is flawed, or too simplistic:
https://www.6seconds.org/2020/01/25/the-great-practice-myth-debunking-the-10000-hour-rule/
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10000-hour-rule-wrong-really-master-skill/
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Related posts:
https://cliffordberger.com/how-to-thrive-in-the-harvest-season-of-life/
