It's Hard & It's Supposed To Be

I've reading this book called The Sweet Spot - How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work.  Most of what I was reading at the beginning was really things I've heard repeatedly about habits, being mindful, focusing outward.  Then this morning when I picked it up and turned the page, the chapter was called Making Hard Things Easy.  Wouldn't you know it - the whole chapter is focused on Mastery.

In her research, the author has found that masters to have three things in common.  The first is that they practice whatever they have mastered deliberately over time.  It is not about having in innate talent or skill but about having put in the time - intentionally and regularly.  The second thing was that they were driven by passion or intrinsic interest.  There has to be an internal driver to keep them going.  No one can push you into mastery and really, external drivers all wear thin and cause us to grow weary in our pursuit.  The final area was persistence when failure or difficulty arises.

So, as someone who has been chasing this concept of mastery for a few years as part of the I Ho Chuan team, none of this is a surprise.  All of this makes sense.  I can rationally think through all of it.  Yet, here I sit today and I am struggling.  I feel that this should not be so hard.  I made a list of goals that were important to me.  I have a plan, all that's left to do is execute the plan.  Why is this so hard?  The author had this quote in the book...

Developing mastery is difficult.  Deliberate practice is uncomfortable; it is often boring or frustrating or agonizing.  Being at the bottom of the learning curve can be deeply humbling.  Challenging situations - so needed for mastery - often lead to pain and failure.  Mastery may be one of the purest forms of ease, but developing mastery is hard.

Developing mastery is hard!  The fact that I am struggling is really part of the process.  Difficulty leads to growth.  This year has been the hardest one yet for me to maintain engagement in the mastery process.  I am taking encouragement in the fact that it is ok that I'm finding this hard.  I have spent some time reflecting on my goals and the why behind them.  They are still relevant and important to me.  Therefore, the next step is back to deliberate practice...