True Mastery is Gained Through Evolution. Not Repetition.

10,000 hours alone isn’t enough

If you want to get better at something, simply work at it for 10,000 hours, and eventually, you’ll succeed.

That’s advice popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers. The 10,000-hour idea was later debunked.

While showing up every day to do our best work even when we don’t feel like it is a crucial part of success. And so is the repetition of certain tasks.

But that’s not enough to make us succeed.

Because if all we need is repetition and consistency, then:

• People who go to gyms each week for years, even decades, should’ve become elite athletes by now, possessing elite-level strength. But that’s not the case.
• College students who spend 10,000 hours in a classroom would become experts at the subjects they learn. But we usually forget most class lectures in college.
• Workers who’ve been in their position for years (think about those pencil pushers in government or large companies) don’t necessarily become specialists in their fields.

Simply doing more work, or plain repetition of tasks, won’t cut it.