The 10,000 Hour Rule

Have you ever heard of an over-night success?  Professional athletes (e.g. Jeremy Lin), musicians (e.g. Beetles), captains of industries (e.g. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett), all seem to come out of nowhere and achieve huge success in their fields.  We all think, “If they achieved great success, how come I haven’t made it yet?”  It basically boils down to the 10,000 hour rule.

According to Malcolm Gladwell, the rule basically says that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master a skill. For example, it would take 10 years of practicing 2.74 hours a day to become a master in your subject. It would take approximately 5 years of full-time employment to become proficient in your field. Simply work out how many hours you have already achieved and calculate how far you need to go. You should be aiming for 10,000 hours.

Is your child filling the hours of their day meaningfully? That’s no problem for self-directed, endlessly curious learners. Chances are they’ll grow up to redefine success. Who knows what the kids of today will achieve?

The same 10,000 hour rule can be applied to bad habits.  Laziness, impatience, procrastination, gossiping, complaining, etc. are all habits that are learned over time.  And people have “mastered” these traits because of the 10,000 hour rule. 

As parents, we have a huge responsibility in making sure our children use the 10,000 hour rule wisely and not on “time-fillers” and “time-killers.”  If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

Jeff Cvitak

Martial Arts USA