10,000 Hours of Love
I just downloaded the audio version of Malcolm Gladwell's latest book, Outliers. I haven't listened to it yet but from what I've heard much of it centers upon research done at Florida State which suggests that thousands of hours of deliberate practice are needed to become an expert in any complex field, whether you're a cellist or a neurosurgeon. This has become known as the 10,000 Hour Rule.
Gladwell says that the best practicioners in any cognitively difficult field have one thing in common - they put in 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become the best. That comes out to about 3 hours per day for 10 years, skipping practice maybe every other Sunday. It got me thinking about what I want to be the best in the world at, and how little I practice these things.
When I held this principle up to my spiritual pursuits I saw something very clearly, something I believe is worth sharing. I deeply value the teachings of Jesus, and he once was challenged to choose which of God's commandments was the greatest. His answer:
And better yet, what if thousands of us practice loving our neighbors as ourselves three hours per day for 10 years? What would our neighborhoods look like then? Or our citis? Our countries? How might the world change if we all became experts at Love?
It's worth a try.
Gladwell says that the best practicioners in any cognitively difficult field have one thing in common - they put in 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become the best. That comes out to about 3 hours per day for 10 years, skipping practice maybe every other Sunday. It got me thinking about what I want to be the best in the world at, and how little I practice these things.
When I held this principle up to my spiritual pursuits I saw something very clearly, something I believe is worth sharing. I deeply value the teachings of Jesus, and he once was challenged to choose which of God's commandments was the greatest. His answer:
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'What if I practice Jesus' greatest commandments for 10,000 hours? What if I deliberately focus on loving God and caring for my neighbor the way I do for myself for three hours every day? Who would I be if I became one of the best in the world at Love?
And better yet, what if thousands of us practice loving our neighbors as ourselves three hours per day for 10 years? What would our neighborhoods look like then? Or our citis? Our countries? How might the world change if we all became experts at Love?
It's worth a try.
Labels: Love
posted by James at 00:33
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5 Comments:
Wow, thanks for sharing this. And I think that the more you practice something like that, loving God and people will start to imprint itself on your mind and actions and be a bigger influence on every moment of every day.
As I was reading, I kept being struck by the thought that my job is about three hours long each day, and how different it might look if I approached it from that perspective. Or lately, I've been spending about three hours a day on public transportation... what does it look like to love the people on the bus? Definitely something to be mindful of today and onward.
yeah James.
I think of the word 'intentional.'
Cellists aren't cellists because they hang out with people who play the cello. Neurosurgeons are excellent at what they do simply because they subscribe to all of the best medical journals.
One must intentionally (or, as you said DELIBERATELY) DO and PRACTICE what they want to be excellent at.
In other words, the Greatest Commandments weren't "Go to a church where they preach about loving people with all their heart, mind, and soul."
Thanks James.
daniel
"And better yet, what if thousands of us practice loving our neighbors as ourselves three hours per day for 10 years?"
Dude - if we did that the earth would probably split open from the force of love.
What an excellent idea.
That's right up there with WWJD.
I'm going to challenge you to write a book on this & I'll do everything I can to help you get it published.
Hey friends, thanks for the encouraging remarks! Mike B., I really appreciate the challenge. I'm going to email you some thoughts.
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