Perhaps you have heard of the 10,000 Hour Rule. This is the generally accepted notion that the only way to be really good at anything is to spend 10,000 hours doing it. This is why some people can be professional golfers and others cannot, because they have spent so many years doing golf. The same is true in most professions. You cannot simply "pick up" a profession later in life and be as good as those who have spent so much time on it.
We see this, occasionally, in sports. Michael Jordan, a great basketball player, tried to play professional baseball and failed. He had not spent his childhood becoming a great baseball player and it was too late. He could have been a great baseball player if he had started that way, and invested the time, but he could not be that person anymore. The 10,000 Hour Rule meant that he would never be great at baseball.
We see great athletes in one sports (baseball, football, etc.) suddenly decide they want to be professional golfers. Again, they do not succeed. They have great talent but without putting in the time, they can't be that good at their second sport.
The 10,000 Hour Rule is very important to us. The principle is certainly true -- we get better at things as we do them more often. We become better workers the longer we work, we become better accountants and better lawyers and better machinists and better receptionists by spending more time doing the job.
We become better parents as time passes. One of the joys of being older is listening to all the bright young people with their clever ideas, which you know will fail. In our world, young people don't listen to actual, experienced people they know, they listen to strangers who write books and get on television or the internet. They ignore the 10,000 Hour Rule, just as we did when we were younger.
We become better preachers and better teachers as well. Churches often hire young pastors, hoping to get energy and reach "young people," but find they are not great preachers. Why not? Because they have not preached very often. Occasionally, we find a great young preacher, but very very seldom.
So, what are you spending your time on? How much time I need to spend on something is determined by how important it is to me. I cannot decide to spend my time as I prefer (because I would do useless things so often), but must spend time on what matters most.
Have I spent my 10,000 Hours doing something worthwhile? Have I gotten better?
If not, then today is the day to get focused.
We see this, occasionally, in sports. Michael Jordan, a great basketball player, tried to play professional baseball and failed. He had not spent his childhood becoming a great baseball player and it was too late. He could have been a great baseball player if he had started that way, and invested the time, but he could not be that person anymore. The 10,000 Hour Rule meant that he would never be great at baseball.
We see great athletes in one sports (baseball, football, etc.) suddenly decide they want to be professional golfers. Again, they do not succeed. They have great talent but without putting in the time, they can't be that good at their second sport.
The 10,000 Hour Rule is very important to us. The principle is certainly true -- we get better at things as we do them more often. We become better workers the longer we work, we become better accountants and better lawyers and better machinists and better receptionists by spending more time doing the job.
We become better parents as time passes. One of the joys of being older is listening to all the bright young people with their clever ideas, which you know will fail. In our world, young people don't listen to actual, experienced people they know, they listen to strangers who write books and get on television or the internet. They ignore the 10,000 Hour Rule, just as we did when we were younger.
We become better preachers and better teachers as well. Churches often hire young pastors, hoping to get energy and reach "young people," but find they are not great preachers. Why not? Because they have not preached very often. Occasionally, we find a great young preacher, but very very seldom.
So, what are you spending your time on? How much time I need to spend on something is determined by how important it is to me. I cannot decide to spend my time as I prefer (because I would do useless things so often), but must spend time on what matters most.
Have I spent my 10,000 Hours doing something worthwhile? Have I gotten better?
If not, then today is the day to get focused.