A friend was talking to me about the idea that all that is required to gain expertise in a particular subject is approximately 10,000 hours of requisite practice. The idea, whatever its actual merits are, has gotten stuck in my head.
I guess I’ve begun to wonder whether I’ve managed to gain expertise in anything. Day to day, i feel proficient at what I do, for sure. And yet I have difficulty shaking the feeling that expertise is constantly moving away from me, and that, day to day, I don’t allow myself to focus in on particular tasks in such a way that I am improving myself in any substantive or lasting way.
I’m reminded of the fact that they say you can’t forget how to ride a bike, and yet I have managed to do exactly that.