Mastery

In the last post; I talked about strength. Tonight I feel like I should take it to the next step. Mastery.

When I was on the subject of strength, I mentioned the concept of developing those things that you are good at. To the extent of becoming great at them.

This is what i consider to be a master. I don't really care what particular discipline you are considering for the analogy. you are likely to find ten thousand other folks in the world who could be considered masters at it. There is nothing that will separate you from any of the other masters at whatever it is that you do.

But, that said, although there are other masters in the world; there is a world of difference between the masters and the rest of us.

If your computer dies, you call a master to repair it. If your car has a problem, you take it to a master mechanic. Likewise the master plumber, master carpenter, etc. Other sectors may call them doctors, professors, or something similar. The point is that these folks are generally considered to be the best of the best at something very specific. You would not call a plumber to fix your fuse box. He knows how to fix the drain. Not the socket.

The old adage is I think "jack of all trades, master of none." It implies that a person is not able to master more than one (or all) of the different disciplines available to them.

This, to me, is a crock of shit.

Given enough time, effort, training, and practice, I believe that the human mind does indeed have the capacity to master any damned thing that catches its attention.

The problem is that most people do not devote those four factors in unison often enough to actually learn to do more than one thing really really well. I know lots of folks who can do lots of things half-assed. I also know lots of them who can do one thing really well. I only know a few who can do lots of things really well.

I feel as though tonight's thought is a focus point for me of where I was when I started writing this journal. i haven't explored this idea in quite a while. So I re-examined myself in this light, and spent some time reading the things that I have written. It is apparent to me that I really am still pursuing those things that I spoke about over a year ago as being important to me.

Point in fact. Every single one of the interests that were mentioned in that very first post. Every single one has in my mind been developed to some point closer to mastery than it was at the time. I have continued to be driven to exercise each of those skills and grow my own mastery of it. Although I am still a jack of all trades by and large; I would say that I can now see that someday I might be able to at least consider myself to be a master of some. Sure beats none in my book.

And thats the point isnt it? Every day of your life you need to experience growth. It seems to me that the only way to find out what this world that we are in is all about is to grow with it. I dont want to get to some level of whatever and just stay there. I want to get bigger, better, faster, smarter, (better looking, but good luck right?) and so on every day. Staying the same just doesnt cut it.

The only way that this can happen is through challenge. Take help where you can get it, but face your challenges. head on. try it. whats the worst that can happen? failure, although it sucks, sure beats not trying at all. And failure never really happens if youve done your homework and your studies, and taken the test with a sharp #2 pencil right?

The point is, find something, anything, and master it. or find ten things and master them all. Just try not to get to be pretty good at them and then quit learning.