How to Get Good

It's back-to-school time here in America. Thoughts of school always lead to one of the Big Questions of Life: What should I do?

I think about this question from time to time. When people approach this topic, two answers often crop up.

Do What You Love

This is the offering of motivational speakers, TV Very Special Episode characters, and people with lots of money.

Do What You Are Good At

This tends to come from your inner scared kid. The part that tells you you'll never make it, that you'll die lonely on the street, that you need to eat, that you need to pay rent, that you'll never be good enough to do that other thing, so just do what you know you're good at, make some money, and everything will be okay.

The Problem

To start, tell your inner kid to shut up. Doing what you're good at when don't like it, even if you are very good at it, is a path to a lifetime of regret. You are going to spend about a third of your weekdays working. Do you really want to spend them on something you don't like? Don't do it. I know people who work that way. They are not happy.

Unfortunately, I'm also going to have to rain on the love parade. I love many things. For instance, I love reading books. So maybe I should be a book critic, right? Of course, I love watching movies, too. Maybe I should criticize movies, like Roger Ebert. Or make a movie! It's fun to hold a camera. And I started kayaking recently. That's fun, maybe I could be an olympic kayaker, or an outdoor guide.

Of course, none of these have come to pass, nor shall they. What I actually do is make computer software, something I both love doing and am good at.

Do What You Love and are Good At?

So is that the solution? Combine the two? Not quite. See, I didn't actually like programming at first. And I certainly wasn't good. I took an introductory programming course in college, and dropped out after less than a month. I never took that class again. Ponder.

The only reason I kept at programming was because of a crazy idea I had that could only be realized if I learned to program. So I kept at it.

Consider the Love Theory. Consider all the things you love doing. Are you any good at them? I'm willing to bet you have many things you love doing, and I'm also willing to bet you're not expert at most of them. If you are like me, you are just good enough to compete with your friends and/or family.

To succeed at a professional level takes more than that. My employer is not competing with my brother.

Do What You Love Getting Good At

The bad news: This is not an essay telling you how to figure out what to do. I don't think anyone really knows.

Instead, this essay is about how to know you've found what you're looking for once you find it. Simply put, you'll know you've found something worth exploring when you find an activity you enjoy getting good at it.

The Long Road to Mastery

Supposedly, it takes 10,000 hours of intentional development to master any task. That works out to about 10 years, assuming normal human working hours. I started programming around 2001, so in three years, I should be a master. I can tell you this: I've needed every minute, and I know I need more.

Ask yourself if you enjoy any activities to which you would be willing to dedicate 10,000 working hours, in order to get good. Would you spend 10,000 hours learning to write a good novel? And by learning, I mean writing rejected crap, only gradually emerging into respectable material, let alone great art. Seriously, 10 years, all your working time, just writing books no one reads. Could you do it?

This is important, because you are going to be bad for a long time. Any pleasure you get at simple participation is going to die quickly in the face of your ineptitude, particularly if you try to go professional. No one wants to hear what a good time you're having. Imagine a doctor shrugging off a failed surgery with "Well, I enjoyed it, so whatever."

In your professional life, you'll either progress, stagnate, or get fired. I'd choose progress. But a job you don't enjoy is a wasted third of your priceless, irreplaceable time.

Growth is the Important Part

It's all about growth. Growth makes you happy. Growth makes you great. Growth is what you must enjoy.

In college, I didn't enjoy programming, though I do now. But I loved getting good at programming, because it meant I could realize my ideas.

Consider that. I enjoyed getting good before I enjoyed the activity. It is entirely possible that you will enjoy mastering an activity you don't currently like.

It's also possible, maybe even likely, that if you enjoy getting good, skill and enjoyment will take care of themselves.

I don't have a theory on how to find this thing you enjoy getting good at. In my case, it was tied to a dream I had, and that may work for you. Anytime you can hitch growth to a dream, you've probably got a winning combination.

I'll leave you with some motivation: When you do find something you enjoy getting good at, you can make a lot of money, and have a hell of a good time doing it. I certainly do.