The Talent Code一万小时天才理论

高凡依

One famous theory the scientists put forward is “10，000-Hour Rule”. The rule says that you need approximately1 10，000 hours of practice to become a world-class expert in a field. There is no other way. If you want to be a world-class expert in your field， you must do your 10，000 hours of practice. Then， where should you invest2 your 10，000 hours of practice？

科学家们提出了一个著名的“一万小时天才理论”，该理论称：练习一万个小时，你就能成为某领域的世界级大师。别无他法，如果你想成功，那就必须得练一万个小时。那么，你要把这一万个小时花在哪儿呢？

This question is important because 10，000 hours is a lot of time. If you consistently3 practice 4 hours a day for 6 days a week， you will still need 8 years to get 10，000 hours. So answering this question is essential4. If you need to invest such a huge amount of time， youd better do it right. Youd better find your direction.

这个问题很重要，因为一万个小时是很长的一段时间。如果你持续地每天练习4小时，每周练习6天，你仍需8年才能达到一万个小时的练习量。所以回答“要把一万个小时花在哪”这个问题就十分有必要了。如果真要付出这么多的时间，你最好谨慎回答，选择最合适的方向。

To find your direction， I find the three questions below helpful. Answer them and you will have an idea of where you should go. Here they are：

为了能找到最合适的方向，我提出了下面的三个问题，如果能回答出来这些问题，你就能找到你的方向了。问题如下：

1. Where have you invested your time？

1. 你过去都把时间花在了哪里？

One way to know where to invest your time is simply to look at where you have invested your time. For example， in the last few years you might have learned how to play music for one or two hours a day. Or you might have blogged5 about a certain topic. Or you might have spent a lot of time on gardening. Those are good signs of where you should invest your 10，000 hours. You already invest part of that 10，000 hours so you only need to invest the rest. The difference is now you do it consciously6 and deliberately7. You will be more effective that way.

要想知道该在哪儿花时间，最简单的办法就是回头看看自己已经在哪儿花了时间。比如说，在过去的几年里，你每天都会花一两个小时来演奏音乐，或者在某个专题上发表文章，又或者在园艺上花费了大量的时间。这些都能很好地说明你应该在哪些方面来完成这一万个小时的时间。你已经完成了一万小时的一部分，那么你只需要投入剩下的那部分了。不同的是，你现在是有意识地、特意地把时间用在某个领域上，如此收效更佳。

2. What are your passions？

2. 你最感兴趣的是什么？

In fact， thats one reason why 10，000 hours is a magic8 number to become a world-class expert. Almost everyone else fails before reaching that point. Only a few people can reach the 10，000 hours mark and thats why they become world class.

实际上，这就是“一万小时天才理论”的奥妙，几乎所有人都在达成目标前就放弃了。只有一小部分人可以坚持一万个小时，而他们就成了世界级的高手。

To help you reach the 10，000 hours mark， doing something you love is really helpful. It will help you go through difficult times. It will help you overcome boredom9. Without it， the 10，000 hours will be like a painful journey. Its highly unlikely that you will ever reach the 10，000 hours mark that way.

做自己感兴趣的事，对你完成“一万小时”的任务十分有利。它可以帮助你渡过难关，克服无趣。如果对所做的事毫无兴趣，那么坚持一万个小时就是一段痛苦不堪的长途跋涉，很有可能你在到达终点前就已经放弃了。

3. What opportunities does the age give you？

3. 你所处的时代赋予了你什么？

Ask yourself： what opportunities does your birth date give you？ What opportunities does the history give you at this point in time？

问问自己：你出生的时代给了你什么机遇？现在的社会环境又给你创造了什么机遇？

Answering these questions is not easy because its difficult to see whether or not something will be hot. When Bill Gates did his 10，000 hours of practice to learn programming， he might not know that it would eventually10 put him in a perfect position to be a software mogul11. Anyway， the most important thing is that， you need to have faith in something and believe that the dots will eventually connect.

回答这些问题并不容易，因为很难预见哪些事物会成为时代的选择。当比尔·盖茨把他的一万个小时用于学习编程的时候，他可能根本不知道最终自己会因此而成为软件业巨头。无论如何，最重要的是，你要坚定自己的选择，并相信，涓涓细流，必成江海。

[1] approximately adv. 大约，近似地；近于 [2] invest vt. 投资；耗费

[3] consistently adv. 一贯地；一致地；坚实地 [4] essential adj. 基本的；必要的

[5] blog n. 博客 v. 写博客 [6] consciously adv. 自觉地；有意识地

[7] deliberately adv. 故意地；谨慎地；慎重地 [8] magic adj. 不可思议的；有魔力的；魔术的

[9] boredom n. 厌倦 [10] eventually adv. 最后，终于

[11] mogul n. 有权势的人；显要人物