Malcolm Gladwell, in his best-selling book Outliers: The Story of Success, makes note of a remarkable discovery. “Researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.” No one can ever really master any task, become truly proficient in any undertaking, without the painstaking effort of constant repetition. “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good,” Gladwell says, “It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
It is the first mantra of every coach of an Olympian: Practice, practice until you drop – and then start to really practice. There is a physical as well as a mental basis for this emphasis. The power of habit establishes a pattern of behavior that becomes hardwired into our nervous system. After time, it becomes activated even without the need for intention. Our conscious minds are no longer necessary to activate desirable patterns; our nervous system kicks in automatically.
William James, in his magnificent work entitled “Habit”, uses that very idea as key to a spiritual recommendation. He recommends that we “make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy.” Use the power of habit to override the negative pull of improper temptation.
Habits of action are the architects for our behavior and influence our emotions.
The famous American philosopher unwittingly echoed the great anonymous medieval author of the Sefer HaChinuch when he wrote: “Our heart follows after our actions.” Habits of action are the architects for our behavior and influence our emotions.
When Maimonides was asked whether it was preferable, in dispensing charity, to give $100 to one person or a single dollar to 100 needy individuals, he ruled the latter – simply because that would make a far greater habit out of our act of giving.
[B Belch]
