Unmasking the Myth of the 10,000 Hour Practice Rule: Why practice doesn’t always make perfect

When I was learning to ballroom dance, the slogan of my dance school was “Take Your First Step… in the Right Direction.” And it makes perfect sense in dance and life. Moving forward in your work, health, and relationships is important, but only if you’re moving in the right direction.

Vince Lombardi, best known for leading the Green Bay Packers to victories in Super Bowls I and II (1967 and 1968) said, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” And I agree. In fact, I believe that’s what separates the amateurs from the experts.

You can practice a new skill or dance move over and over again 10,000 times, but if you’re practicing it wrong, you will not improve. In fact, the opposite will happen because wrong behaviors will become ingrained, making it harder, if not impossible to correct.

Psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman addresses this in the chapter “The Myth of 10,000 Hours” in Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence. In summary, he says it all boils down to this; repetition does not improve your skills unless it is concentrated practice with feedback from an expert coach.

The Importance of Pivoting in Practice
Rote repetition is useless unless you are adjusting your actions and pivoting your plan to get you closer to your goals. Think about it. We’ve all heard the expression “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” So why do many of us think that practice makes perfect when in reality, perfect practice makes perfect?

Listen to the Experts
So how do we know if we’re pivoting in the right direction? Goleman’s studies suggest that we need to find an expert coach and listen to their feedback to help recognize where and when we need to adjust our actions and course.

Multi-tasking is a Big Mistake
The last point Goleman makes in this chapter is while expert opinions and redirection matters, if you’re not concentrating your efforts solely on the task you’re wanting to improve, you’re probably wasting your time.

“When practice occurs while we are focusing elsewhere, the brain does not rewire the relevant circuitry for that particular routine,” says Goleman.

So multi-taking ends up being less productive and effective in the long run.

If you’ve been practicing a new skill for 10,000 hours or more or feel like you’re spinning your wheels not getting anywhere, you might want to re-evaluate whether you’re getting expert coaching and adjusting your actions along the way. Those are just some of the keys that separate the amateurs from the experts.

While some of us may never reach Super Bowl status in our chosen field, in the words of Vince Lombardi, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” Wise advice from an expert coach.