Lenten Reflection for March 8th

In his book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell popularised the theory of the ‘10,000 hour rule’ which states that for one to become a ‘master’ at any skill they must put in at least 10,000 hours of practice.

One of the psychologists who co-researched the theory and read Gladwell’s book made an observation, saying an aspect not focused on in the books is the importance of how good a student’s teacher is as well. One student might practise for 10,000 hours and become proficient enough, but another might practise less and excel further if their teacher was more helpful than the former student’s teacher.

I’ve never been very proficient in maths, in school it was always a struggle for me to learn maths and do well in tests. I know all my maths teachers did their best to help students, especially those struggling, but I just couldn’t grasp many of the concepts and it was terribly embarrassing and discouraging to keep failing where others were succeeding. There were two teachers though that really were able to help me through with extra lessons during lunch or after school. 

They had a way of explaining concepts differently and encouraged me with practical tips that could help me in the long run such as carrying an extra bit of paper with me to make notes of what confused me so I could remember to ask questions later and to never feel dumb asking for help.

The Gift of Right Judgement or Counsel is a grace given to us from the Holy Spirit, but it’s also one we need to learn to grow in through experience. It is most effective for our maturing process when we can learn from the consequences of our actions. In Proverbs we read, “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15) When we are uncertain about a decision we need to make, we may need to humble ourselves and ask for help from the Lord and guidance from the Holy Spirit and not feel foolish for doing so. Let’s pray to grow in the Fruit of Humility as well as the Gift of Counsel when faced with any choice we need to make!

For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ:

When I was in school, I wasn’t the best student when it came to maths. I really liked reading, history, sciences and art, but I could just never seem to easily figure out math problems or do well on tests. I felt embarrassed to not be able to succeed or keep up with other students who did well at maths. Many of my math teachers all tried their best but had many other students who needed their help. I felt that this was just the way it was, I would never be good at maths. That changed however, when two teachers took the time to explain certain math problems to me in different ways, ways I could understand more easily. I started getting better grades in maths after that!

I didn’t need to feel embarrassed about not being good at maths. I needed to be able to ask questions and I needed the right teacher to be able to help me understand.

God is a perfect teacher for us. When we aren’t sure about a decision and feeling confused, we don’t have to be shy or embarrassed, we can always pray and ask for His help. When we speak to God through our prayers, He can help us learn how to make better decisions!

God bless you!