That 10,000 Hour "Rule" Doesn't Always Hold Up

They say that practice makes perfect. More recently, we've all heard that to become really good at something, you need to put in 10,000 hours of practice. Unless you spend all day practicing, that's a lot of years. So not only is the "rule" discouraging, it doesn't really make sense. Quite a few people are very good at something when they are still young, and others change directions completely at an advanced age and then show amazing talent. In this TED-Ed lesson, David Epstein explains that you don't have to devote yourself to a certain activity from childhood in order to become really good at it. Sometimes it takes a bit of experimenting to find out where your talents lie, or what your passion is. If you find something you are excited about doing, practice doesn't feel like work. And if you begin to feel at home with what you are doing, who is counting those hours? We can't all be world famous for our talents, but we can all be good at something.