On the creative journey, it's easy to get lost, but don't worry, you'll lift up.

Sometimes you just need a creative pep talk.

Hey, you're listening to the Creative Pep Talk podcast.

I'm your host, Andy J. Pizza.

Have you ever heard anyone say that being in the zone creatively or athletically or mentally is the peak human experience?

When I first heard this idea that that zone or flow state was kind of the secret to ultimate happiness, I instantly leaned in to hear like,

okay, if that's true, I like being happy. Tell me how to achieve it. Maybe like simple.

It's about doing things that are a balance of challenge and mastery is the sweet spot of those two things.

Now, challenges, as someone with ADHD, pretty much every single thing in my life is a challenge.

So they're all over the place, not hard to find it all. Flip on the news, open your phone, go to pretty much any room in my house.

You know, I've got two dogs and three kids. There's challenges all over the place.

I know where to find those, but as I looked for mastery, I found that this idea just really made me feel disheartened because you've probably heard it by now.

It's called the 10,000 hour rule, and it's this proposition that it requires 10,000 hours of the right kind of practice to master a skill.

So, if, look, I'm no mathematician, but I start to work in it out.

So if happiness equals flow, and flow equals mastery, and mastery equals 10,000 hours of practice, peak happiness is only 10,000 hours away.

That doesn't sound too bad, but if you start breaking it down, look, I know if A equals B and B equals C and C equals D, then A also equals D.

And I'm pretty sure the equation I calculated next is as depressing as the math made it seem, because if you work on that skill, you're trying to master.

And it takes 10,000 hours to reach flow. All you need to do is practice two hours a day, five days a week, for 19 years.

Now, talk about a Get Happy Quick scheme. 19 years, and you're going to be, woo, having a smile on your face.

But, luckily, if you're sitting on a huge mountain of cash, and you have all the time in the world, you could practice five hours a day every week day, and happiness will only take you seven and a half years to finally taste.

Oh, and don't forget you need a private tutor, because the practice has to be exactly right.

So that pile of cash also comes in handy in that case as well.

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