They say that it takes 10, 000 hours of practice until you become expert in something. 10,000 hours!!!! How many of us can say we have given that amount of attention to any one activity? I wondered to myself , "how many hours of practice does it take until we can really say that we will or won't enjoy doing something?" Of course there are things that we instantly and instinctively like and take to like a duck to water. But there are also things that don't go right straight away but that doesn't mean that with time and focus it can't be something that we gain a lot from.
I learned to knit at the age of around 7. I could knit, I could purl but I can't say I enjoyed it. I gave up almost as soon as I started. Fast forward 23 years and I was pregnant with my first child. I had a real desire to knit for them and then followed hours and hours of happy knitting and creating. The time hadn't been right when I was young but the skills had been learned and I have lots of hours of enjoyment and lots of knitted clothes to show for it now!
It's all about open minds and grasping opportunities I guess. And understanding that the things that don't come naturally can still give us pleasure and can teach us something new about ourselves. Stan Lee, the legendary creator of superheroes such as Spiderman did not start drawing cartoons until the age of 43. Take the opportunities, have a go at things. And when you can identify things that excite you and make you passionate put in those 10,000 hours. You never know where it might lead! Picture above of Anna Mary Robertson Moses who started her highly prolific and successful painting career at the age of 78.
I learned to knit at the age of around 7. I could knit, I could purl but I can't say I enjoyed it. I gave up almost as soon as I started. Fast forward 23 years and I was pregnant with my first child. I had a real desire to knit for them and then followed hours and hours of happy knitting and creating. The time hadn't been right when I was young but the skills had been learned and I have lots of hours of enjoyment and lots of knitted clothes to show for it now!
It's all about open minds and grasping opportunities I guess. And understanding that the things that don't come naturally can still give us pleasure and can teach us something new about ourselves. Stan Lee, the legendary creator of superheroes such as Spiderman did not start drawing cartoons until the age of 43. Take the opportunities, have a go at things. And when you can identify things that excite you and make you passionate put in those 10,000 hours. You never know where it might lead! Picture above of Anna Mary Robertson Moses who started her highly prolific and successful painting career at the age of 78.