Habits to live by: 10,000 Hours of Talent or Bust!

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When I finally got the chance to watch TV over some one's house I immediately found myself in love with a show called Face Off. Its a competitive show that takes the top special effects make up artists on a bunch of challenges to see who lands on top. Everything about their creative process as well as their execution fascinated me. Mashallah they are so talented! But then I heard a comment from the back of the room

"Yeah, but so are you!"

And then I remembered my artistic skills...

Serene Geisha (ACEO)

Veiled Bedou Women

I often neglect them in my older age, but when I was younger I couldn't go a day without marking something with a illustration or two. I used to win competitions and impress folks all the time. And then I would always here that famous line...

"Oh you are so talented, I wish I could draw."

And I thought I was talented. In fact, I used to believe it was in my genes. My father and my brother both had artistic skills.  But now I have come to realize in this day and age how in retrospect I had built my talent with lots of hard work and persistence. Because I was fascinated with drawing since I was a baby (and stuck with it) I had developed an eye for copying and creating images with a pencil.


Scientific studies have proven that talent is no more than the result of consistent hard work. Expertise, in particular, arises from years of dedication like 10,000 hours worth! 


I am all about goal setting, so I though I might dwell on some questions prompted by a great article on talent here. 


Areas I am talented in:

• Art/Drawing
• Cooking
• Dancing
• Researching

I find that all of these things I love to do. My passion has motivated me throughout my life to develop skills in areas just because I enjoyed doing them so much!


Areas that I like to be talented in (more):

• Memorization of Qur'an
• Tajweed
• Running a Business
• Communication Skills (Being more effective, savvy, communicate my thoughts more clearly)
• Sewing
• Designing

Now it comes down to how much much do I want to improve upon these areas and dedicated time every day to doing them so there can be improvement. I think doing the math will probably make me cry but its safe to conclude that 10,000 hours is achieved after years of hard work!!!


Baby steps are best when trying to develop habits. I will keep you posted once I develop a rhythm for developing these skills.

What kinds of skills would you like to improve upon? Are any of you working consistently on any goal right now?