In my personal and professional lives, there are many things I want to be good at - but only a few that I actually want to master. I enjoy operating as "Jack of all trades, master of none" simply because of the diversity it affords; but every so often I discover something which I can hold to my breast and attempt to own.
Happily, I stumbled across this post by Leo Babuta on his blog, ZenHabits.net. He gives seven sage points to help one get in the mindset to master whatever discipline he or she may choose. Be sure to read the whole post, but here is my summary:
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- Do the task, even if you're not in the mood - You'll never master life if you wait until you're, "in the mood."
- Exercise, even when you really don't want to - Ignore the lazy feelings and distractedness, and suck it up - you'll find that you'll feel great for having done it.
- Sit with a little hunger - We tend to panic when we get hungry. Instead of running to junk food, listen to the hunger and realize that a little discomfort won't ruin your life.
- Talk to someone about something uncomfortable - Pushing through an uncomfortable situation will resolve a lot of difficult problems.
- Stick to a habit - It i hart to stick with a (good) habit after your initial enthusiasm dies down. Commit to it for a few months for only a few minutes per day, and you'll start to master the formation of new habits.
- Turn toward the problem - Instead of avoiding, ignoring, or going around problems, acknowledge them and try to figure out exactly what's going on.
- See the good in the activity - No matter what the activity is, find the good in doing it, and the activity itself will become the reward.
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