In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes about the 10,000-hour rule – maybe you have heard about it – basically that it takes up to 10,000 hours of focused practice to gain expertise in an area/field. (Anders Ericsson says you can do it even faster than that)
If you play soccer, or play guitar or want to be a chess champion, it’s helpful to know that it might take 20 hours a week for 10 years for you to reach your expertise goal. You better be dedicated for that kind of commitment.
What we might not be thinking about, though, is what else we might already be practicing for equal (or more) hours every day that we might consciously or unconsciously become expert in.
If the idea is – what you practice is what you become good at – what else are you practicing without knowing it?
Consider this – are you practicing the attitudes and ethical lifestyles you want for yourself? Not what you say you want (like most of the New Year’s resolutions you’ve already broken) but what you actually do on a day in day out basis (that is the practicing part).
For instance, what state of being/attitude are you working on right now? Are you practicing to become an expert in love or hate? Tolerance or ignorance? Laughter or anger? Are you anxious or peaceful? Joyful or frustrated? Afraid or confident? Happy or depressed?
If you aren’t getting good results at what you want, maybe it’s time to look at what you’re practicing and what skills you’re developing in the process.
Ask yourself – How much time are you spending practicing a positive attitude? Do you have good practice conditions and discipline? Are you spending time in places with other individuals or groups that are working against your practice goals? Do you spend too much time online feeding the negative feelings you don’t want? Do practice what you preach? (You imagine that you are a certain way, but then end up acting differently when push comes to shove?)
What we practice we get better at – and if we do too much for too long, we may become experts in attitudes and feelings we never intended.
So, make sure what you’re practicing is what you want to get good at – and while I’m not sure anyone wants to become an expert worrier, we probably all know someone who is. It can happen to you too.
Don’t be that person.
Be careful what you practice.