You Can Become an Expert at Anything – It’s Just Not Easy

If you don’t have that friend in your group who’s the resident expert on any given subject, bad news: it’s probably you.

Unfortunately for the know-it-alls out there, trying your hand at something once, trawling through Wikipedia, or dabbling with a skill does not make you an authority on a topic.

In fact, according to Anders Ericsson, the Professor of Psychology at Florida State University, the definition of an expert is not quite as subjective as you might think.

The Swedish scholar maintains that if you can rack up 10,000 hours of practice, you’ll become a total pro in your chosen field of expertise.

Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading theoretical and experimental researchers on expertise, he formed the basis of this theory, which was featured in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers.

Other than predetermined factors like height and body size – which cannot be altered no matter how much practice you put in – everything else can be perfected and improved with practice. So unless you’re a five-foot basketball player, commitment to working on your skill should lead to success… eventually.

Even intellect isn’t much help. Eventually, competitors will catch up to your level of intelligence and limit your dominance without racking up the hours you need to put in.

And while the concept of “practice makes perfect” isn’t exactly a new one, quantifying exactly number of hours needed to excel at your chosen sport or hobby at least gives us something concrete to aim at.

Just as long as you have plenty of time on your hands. To break that down, if you spent every waking hour of this year – 24 x 366 days (2016 was a leap year) – honing your craft, you’d still have to squeeze in an extra 1,216 before you could call yourself an expert.

Not to mention, you’d be extremely tired.

But becoming a world-class chess player, musician, or Olympian doesn’t happen overnight – it requires engaging in “deliberate practice.” According to Ericsson, those who exhibit high practice concentration beyond their own comfort zone will acquire superior performance and become experts.

Hobbyists must try activities beyond their current sphere of influence, set goals, and have a tangible plan to achieve them.

If that doesn’t sound like fun, it’s because it isn’t. The professor explains that it’s all about sacrifice in the here and now to achieve success later on.

“Practice really involves failing a lot until you eventually reach your goal,” Ericsson told Business Insider.

So the next time you pick up your guitar and start idly strumming, you’d better form more of a plan than just “jamming” if you want to become a pro.

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