Hit 10,000 hours on the torch and it hit me different

I was cleaning out my old work truck last week and found my first logbook from my apprenticeship. Did the math and realized I've put in over 10,000 hours with a cutting torch in my hands. That number just sat with me. It's not just the big pressure vessel jobs in the shipyard, it's all the little cuts, the bevels in tight spots, the times you're hanging off a ladder trying to get a clean line. You don't really notice the skill building up until you look back and see how automatic it all is now. My old foreman used to say 'the torch is an extension of your arm,' and I finally get it. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where a number made you stop and think about how far you've come?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer19924d agoMost Upvoted

That's a wild number to see on paper. When you hit that mark, did you feel like you had mastered it, or did it make you realize how much more there still is to learn? I've heard people talk about that 10,000 hour rule, but I always wonder if it feels like a finish line or just another step.

the_fiona24d ago

Spot something you're good at, like making coffee or fixing bikes, and you'll see what spencer199 means. The more you learn, the more you notice the tiny details you still get wrong. Hitting a big number of hours just shows you the door to the next room, it doesn't mean you own the whole house. You stop counting hours and start seeing layers you never knew were there before.