---
title: "Finishing Matters More Than Speed"
description: "How many times have you told yourself, \"Alas, I don't have the talent, so I'd better give up\" when learning something you were interested in? This phrase often marks the end of a failed effort and closes a door, leading you back to an old path with fewer setbacks but no new scenery. Is talent really that important? Have you overestimated its influence? I once interviewed a cellist who was called a child prodigy at age four and achieved considerable success in music later. He denied being a genius from the start, saying that talent accounted for less than 20% of his success, and his mother, who forced him to practice and didn't let him play outside, contributed more than 15% of that 20%."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-01-28"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/hWQIDmpD1ElXt1cJgRM4Lg"
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---

# Finishing Matters More Than Speed

> How many times have you told yourself, "Alas, I don't have the talent, so I'd better give up" when learning something you were interested in? This phrase often marks the end of a failed effort and closes a door, leading you back to an old path with fewer setbacks but no new scenery. Is talent really that important? Have you overestimated its influence? I once interviewed a cellist who was called a child prodigy at age four and achieved considerable success in music later. He denied being a genius from the start, saying that talent accounted for less than 20% of his success, and his mother, who forced him to practice and didn't let him play outside, contributed more than 15% of that 20%.

How many times have you told yourself, "Alas, I don't have the talent, so I'd better give up" when learning something you were interested in?
This phrase is often used as a full stop to declare a period of effort a complete failure, and it is also often used to close a door and continue on an old path that doesn't require accepting too many setbacks but also doesn't show new scenery. Is talent really that important? Have you overestimated its influence?
I once interviewed a cellist who was called a child prodigy at age four and achieved considerable success in music later. He denied being a genius from the start. He said that when interviewed in the United States, he was often asked: How much of his success was due to talent? "I think less than 20%... But of that 20%, my mother, who forced me to practice the piano from a young age and didn't let me go out to play, probably contributed more than 15%!"
Talent does vary from person to person, but we often overestimate its influence. Looking back, I have said "I don't have talent, so I'd better give up" quite a few times. Honestly, it's mostly because I was lazy and didn't want to keep going, so I often quietly retreated before I had learned enough to prove whether I had talent.
I once waited in a sunny office with a gardening expert. He pointed to a bonsai that was almost lifeless and said, "Last time I came here, this bamboo was full of life, but now it has become like this. Taking care of plants is similar to learning anything. If you spend a little time taking care of it every day, it will grow well; if you neglect it for a few days, it will show signs of decay. The more you look at it, the more you feel sorry for it; the more you feel sorry for it, the less you want to look at it. Soon, it will die."
How many things that could change the direction of our lives or add joy to our lives have died because of this "the more neglected, the more afraid" reason? After hearing his words, I seemed to understand. Not only learning, but love is the same. The more you neglect him, the more afraid you are to see him; the more you feel sorry for him, you will "uncontrollably" feel even more sorry for him.
**Many people, like me, have a tendency to start strong and finish weak.** It's not that we don't want to work hard, but we don't persist. Sometimes we overwork at the beginning and soon become exhausted. Or we are quite interested at the beginning, but after encountering a little difficulty, we tell ourselves, "I don't have talent, forget it," and then we work by fits and starts.
Take my Japanese study in college. At first, I worked harder than any of my classmates. Besides attending classes, I also went to cram school and bought various teaching materials. My roommate got up every morning and studied for half an hour. I vowed to work harder than her and study an extra hour and a half, so I would surely be better than her!
However, her "half an hour every day" lasted for four years, and she didn't stop until she passed the exam for a Japanese government scholarship. My two hours a day of effort was constantly interrupted by "outings, barbecue, love, and dozing off," and it failed before it even started within a month. I passed my Japanese exams by cramming at the last minute.
Later, I made several attempts to work hard, even carrying a Japanese reader with me every day, but they all vanished with the wind because I only had effort but couldn't "persist," and then I told myself, "Forget it, I guess I don't have a talent for Japanese." Now, I am still at the level of a freshman year Japanese. The more frequently "forget it" appears, the more likely we are to accomplish nothing.
British psychology professor Michael J. A. Howe, who specializes in prodigies and geniuses, came to an interesting conclusion: **People generally think that genius is a natural, smooth, and unobstructed shining talent. In fact, genius also needs at least ten years to learn their special skills, with no exceptions. To become an expert, you need a stubborn personality and the ability to persist.** Professionals in every field invest a lot of effort to cultivate their professional skills.
No matter how talented a person is in writing, they still need training and experience to grasp the tricks of literary technique. All successful writers are readers for life, and most develop the habit of putting thoughts into words at an early age. Many outstanding writers tried to write a book before their childhood ended.
This psychologist also calculated that, taking piano as an example, if you want to become a decent amateur pianist, you need at least 3,000 hours of focused training; if you want to reach a professional level, 10,000 hours is unavoidable. The time needed to become professional in chess, various sports, and foreign languages is similar.
From this point of view, our various small setbacks in learning are not due to lack of talent, but because we don't "continuously contribute." So far, the only thing I have invested more than 10,000 hours in is probably writing?
Not only learning, but the most popular weight loss among women is also "no need to work hard, just persist." People who go on crazy diets always fail. According to statistics, more than 90% of those who use crash diets or dieting to lose weight regain their weight within two months of stopping, and 70% have side effects.
A fitness coach also gave me advice: "**Exercise doesn't require effort, just persistence, and you will definitely lose weight!** I am most afraid of those who start like a desperate warrior; their energy always runs out in a short time!"
**No need to work too hard, just keep going. Now I always tell myself this. Wanting to have a specialty or interest that accompanies you for a lifetime is like running a marathon alone. The most important thing is to finish, not how fast you run at the beginning!**
**-END-**
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