I had this thought and felt like posting it here.
Supposedly, it takes 2200 hours to reach "fluency" in Japanese, whatever that means. Let's assume it means basic competency. People's usual response is "wow, that's a long time". Is it really?
Assuming you live for another 50 years, and sleep 8 out of every 24 hours, 2200 hours is approximately 0.75% of your remaining waking life.
I have almost certainly spent more than 0.75% of my total lifespan, future lifespan included, on things that are comparatively not worth doing (for example, posting here) and I will likely continue to do so. Why would I then be reluctant to put time into something that's actually worth doing?
I think this is because a) people have a weak intuition when it comes to big numbers and stretches of time longer than a few minutes. When they see a "big" number, like 2200, they might instinctively reject it, but if they are shown a "small" number, like 0.75%, they are not nearly as likely to do so; and b) people are always looking for excuses to justify their laziness: "oh, it'd 'take too long'. I better spend just as much time on other stuff instead."