I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror as I gripped my father’s clippers, which were old and missing a tooth in the clipper guard. It was during the time when most barbershops were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and I was in desperate need of a haircut as my hair had become lifeless and overgrown.
With no practice or even any sort of training except for hours of YouTube videos, I spent 20 minutes bouncing between saying “this is a horrible idea” and “social media said I could easily do it myself”.
The old clipper started buzzing. I had made my decision and once I held it close to my head, there was no turning back.
One mistake came after the other, while attempts at corrections only made things worse. By the time I was done, I could only be thankful for hats and that there was no need to attend social gatherings.
That whole ordeal taught me a painful lesson, which was the fact that no skill is ever picked up or mastered right away, and instead takes time, dedication and effort. Whether it is cutting hair or anything related to art, work or hobbies, one simply can’t just jump into something expecting the best results without those key factors.
This may all seem obvious to some, but these days, we may not have the patience to put these into what we want to achieve. After all, in the age of social media, where it is ubiquitous to see so many people getting ahead and make things look effortless, we may want nothing more than to keep up or get to the end point, which is mastery. This isn’t helped by the fact that one may be swayed or misguided by certain “shortcuts” promoted to get to a destination faster. These are the worst types of mentality to have.
If you are familiar with English-born Canadian journalist, author and public speaker Malcom Gladwell, you might have heard of the 10,000-hour rule, which he popularised. In his 2008 book “Outliers: The Story of Success”, he noted that “ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness”. Although some may not agree with this while others may see it as an oversimplification, the message to me is clear: in order to be able to master or become good at something, you have to put in a lot of time and practice, with efficiency, into it.
This is exemplified by some of the people we idolise for their talent or skill they possess in their respective field. For me, one of the people who displays this best is Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, who has been ranked in some lists as among the best guitarists of all time. To get as good as he is, Frusciante played a lot, as well as practised several hours daily, which some websites noted as even reaching 12-15 hours a day.
It may also help to focus on one thing at a time and on the fundamentals before branching off to other steps or juggling things in order to get somewhere faster. The late great Bruce Lee, who I idolised ever since I was a kid, put it best when he said: “I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practised one kick 10,000 times.” It is the determination and sheer focus on something with a clear goal in mind that will always triumph over aimlessly doing so many things at once.
So, the next time you decide to pick up and attempt to master a new skill, it is important to remember that the best may not come right away. However, you shouldn’t lose patience as it all takes time and effort, as well as focus. Eventually, it will all pay off.
Photo courtesy of Splash
