Going into this summer, I had a giant bucket list of things I would accomplish. Dance. Contortion. Work at Hollister. Job shadow doctors. Volunteer at the hospital. Study chemistry, biology, physics and Chinese. Study my MCAT review book. Get CPR certified. Learn to cook. Read one book a week. Write a lot. Pick up piano again.
Try as I did, I was soon humbled when I realized that there was no way I could accomplish so many things within the span of three months. There just aren’t enough hours in the day, and not enough of me to go around.
I guess I like to believe that I’m superhuman, that I can do the impossible, and do it well. Maybe that’s just my athletes’ “I can do anything I set my mind to” mindset talking. Or it's simply human nature. We all want to believe we can handle more than we actually can.
Truth is, you simply can’t pile a gazillion things on your plate and expect to do them all to the best of your ability. To perform well at something requires diligent practice, energy and time. In his book "Outliers,"writer Malcolm Gladwell explains the 10,000 hours rule: to master a skill, one needs to practice diligently for at least 10,000 hours. So, if you have ten different goals you want to accomplish at once, you end up mastering nothing.
Now, I am not encouraging you to put all your eggs in one basket, either. To revolve your life around a single goal can be dangerous. This is what I did with gymnastics. For ten years I devoted my life to the sport, striving to fulfill my long-term goal of becoming an Olympic gymnast. I accomplished a lot as a gymnast, have nothing to fall back on when a career-ending injury took me out of the sport.
So, balance is key. Prioritize a couple things- things you are passionate about- and pursue those. You have a whole lifetime ahead for self-betterment and growth, so don’t feel the need to do everything you ever wanted to do by tomorrow.
It’s great to be passionate and enthusiastic about life and your own potential for growth, but also know your own limits. If I've learned one thing so far this summer, it is that I am not superhuman.
I have limits. And that is okay.
