Mastery Blog #5

         "Correction is essential to power and mastery.  You see, we are all ordinary.  But a master, rather than condemning himself for his 'ordinariness', will embrace his ordinariness and use it as a foundation for building the extraordinary.  Instead of giving up, as many ordinary people do, he will use his ordinariness to correct his errors, which is essential in the process of attaining mastery.  You must be able to correct yourself without invalidating or condemning yourself, to accept results and improve upon them.  Correct, don't protect."

        We all fall off the wagon from time-to-time, it is inevitable.  Life gets in the way, priorities need to shift, and our routines crumble.  But, if mastery is what we want to achieve, then it will be a high enough priority that you will have systems in place, fail-safes so to speak, that will lead you through those turbulent periods.  Adaptation and perseverance are key to mastery.

        Now, here is a comment that many will scoff at, mastery isn't hard to achieve.  It is hard work no doubt, but anyone can achieve mastery through small and consistent efforts.  Where people get tripped up is over some arbitrary time line that they have set for themselves.  Although deadlines can be useful tools to get us to do the work, mastery in itself has no deadline, for mastery is dedication over a lifetime; several lifetimes in fact, for it is something that is cultivated over generations and passed down to whomever is willing to seek it.  No one is born a master.  There are those that may have a natural proclivity towards something, and there are "geniuses", but regardless of all that, mastery is undertaken by ordinary individuals who had the tenacity and gumption to pursue greatness.  Mastery is borne from humble beginnings.

        Mistakes and failures are also an unavoidable part of the mastery journey.  A master will see opportunity in the face of failure, where others will simply quit.  To make a mistake or to fail, and then reflect on the experience and grow from it, is all a part of mastery.  A master has failed more times than the average person, yet they endure.  Corrections don't need to be in broad strokes, sometimes all it takes is a small tweak here and there to create effective change.  Think of tossing a stone in a pond.  The center ripples are small, but the further they spread the larger they become.  Small action, big change.

          In a world of social media it is easy to compare our lives to others, it is important to remember that we all have our own unique journeys.  Although we should all be seen as equals, that is simply not true when it comes to our surroundings, upbringing, gender, race , colour of our skin, etc..  How that relates to mastery is in the resources available to us, and our personal timelines.  Mastery is achievable to everyone, but recognize that it will look different and be unique to you.  So don’t compare yourself to others, and learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes; for no one’s journey is the same, nor is it linear.

          I will finish this blog with one final adjustment to some of my earlier comments about mastery, and that is PATIENCE is key to mastery.  Mastery cannot be forced, mastery will not wait, nor will it come to you.  You need to take action, work diligently and mindfully, and have trust in yourself, your instructors, and peers.