10,000 Hours

In the book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell explains that the most successful people in any field, get to the pinnacle due to many factors, one of which is that they have put in 10,000 hours of practice.

We often don't SEE the hours of practice the person has put in though because we don't meet them until they have already arrived at the top.  We see the celebrities on the red carpet but don't see them working for hours with in the gym and saying "no" over and over to sweets.  We see athletes compete at the top of their game and conveniently forget the years of training that got them there.  We look at the CEO of a company with envy and think she/he was just born lucky or ambitious and don't give a second thought to the many hours she/he spent in obscurity toiling away at ground level.

Likewise, if you want to be the kind of person who has a normal weight, enjoys physical fitness, and eats healthy food, you have got to practice it over and over again.  You don't just wish to be that person and hope it accidentally happens.  You have to actually do it. 

Every day that you start the day with exercise or go to the gym, you are practicing your new desired habits.  Every day that you come up with excuses about why you cannot do those things, you are practicing the old undesired habits. 

Every shopping trip you make for healthy food and every meal you take the time to cook with lots of veggies and healthy stuff, and every time you decide to NOT eat your feelings or binge, you are practicing your new desired habits.  Every time you eat junk food or stuff your feelings down with food or buy crap "for the kids" wink, wink, you are practicing the old undesired habits.

Every night when you get to bed at a decent hour you are practicing the new desired habit.  Every night when you stay up too late watching TV or surfing the net, you are practicing the old undesired habit.

You get the point.

One of my mentors on this journey had a slogan that went:  Every Step.  Every Rep.  Every Meal.  Every Mile.  Every Day.  I ADORE that and use it often as my mantra.

That's all it is, practice and repetition.  You can practice the old ways or you can practice the new ways, your choice.  And according to Malcolm Gladwell, when you have put in 10,000 hours of practice on a certain skill, you will be a Master. 

In this Nike commercial, Michael Jordan talks about how maybe he makes it look easy, but the fans don't see the hours of practice he has spent honing his skills:



… “Maybe I led you to believe it was easy when it wasn’t. Maybe I made you think my highlights started at the free throw line, and not in the gym. Maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game winner. That my game was built on flash, and not fire. Maybe it’s my fault that that you didn’t see that failure gave me strength; That my pain gave me motivation. Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a G-d given gift, and not something I worked for… every single day of my life…”– Michael Jordan

What are YOU working for?  Just know that there is no way to master it unless you practice it.

love,
em