Mothers get their 10,000 hours of 'practice'

In his research into highly successful people, he discovered that

most of them — no matter their profession, hobby or pursuit — had in

common several compelling things.

One was that each had "practiced" about 10,000 hours, which equals about 10 years.

He said society "greats" such as Michael Jordan or the Beatles

became successful because they got an early start on their 10,000

hours, playing music or basketball long hours, every day.

That deliberate practice meant they focused efforts and fine-tuned weaknesses.

As they improved, these successful people continually looked to what needed more improvement, then got busy.

I began thinking about motherhood, because after almost 16 years of

mothering, I wondered if that part of my life had been that of

deliberate practice.

Like many mothers do at some point, I reflected upon whether my daily activities added up to something measurably meaningful.

And meaningful to me personally — have I been marking time so far or

have I been truly engaged? Have I rejoiced in my triumphs and

consciously improved the not-so-triumphant?

Then I considered what Gladwell added to the mix.

He said that for those mega-successes, talent ultimately didn't

matter. It helped, but it was not more important than constant practice.

He noted that those who wanted it more, who sacrificed more and felt

more passion about their chosen field became more successful.

He also found that working harder and creating a hunger to succeed added to the mix.