WRITING

Heart rocks from Bishops Beach.

I have two books in progress, both in the self-help genre. One will share my expertise in dealing with supervision and the other in developing romantic relationships.

The working title of my book on supervision is “Being Bossed: How to Enjoy Supervision.”  With nearly seven decades of experience (that’s approximately 600,000 hours), I have far surpassed the psychologist K. Anders Ericsson’s 10,000 hour rule popularized a few years ago by the writer Malcolm Gladwell (Dr. Ericsson claims that 10,000 hours of practice makes you an expert).

From parents to teachers, employers, spouses and, more recently, children, as well as enforcers of various public laws (when to put out the recycling, the IRS) and private contracts (banks, building inspectors, Internet service providers, etc.), I have practiced being bossed in nearly every imaginable life situation.

Ericsson’s theory has been convincingly challenged in recent years by a growing number of cognitive psychologists who have found that practice alone is not sufficient to develop superior levels of expertise. Innate ability makes the difference between pretty good and really good. So as LeBron James is to playing basketball, I am to being supervised. He’s naturally good at the game, and he practices a lot. I am naturally good at being bossed, and I practice all the time.

“Finding Romance the Not Old-Fashioned Way: A Guide for the Astonished Over-60 Single Woman” is the working title of my second work in progress.  This project spans a shorter length of time, about seven years now, with no more than 5,000 hours of deliberate practice (I can’t go into how I practiced).

Frankly I am struggling with this one because I have little success to report. It will take me another seven years to rack up 5,000 more hours, and there’s the natural ability factor. I may not have it.

Pretty soon I have to tweak the title a bit.
I feel writer’s block coming on.

Copyright 2015. Genie Hambrick