Mastery has never been more valuable. In a changing world with more capable AI and automation technology, general knowledge and good-enough skills are quickly being commoditized. Staying relevant means becoming more than good enough. You must be masterful at what you do to be relevant. 

The path of mastery, however, is very misunderstood. 

Most people think that mastery is about being the best in the world at something, being someone who has reached the pinnacle in their field. I don’t see it that way at all. The way I see it…

Mastery isn’t defined by a specific level of capability. It’s all about the attitude with which you respond to your learning curve. 

Mastery is a relationship someone has with their process of growth. With the right relationship, progress (and eventually, masterful outcomes) are more likely to occur. With the wrong relationship, well, luck might still be on your side, but more often than not the results are not so awesome. 

This week I’m sharing three thoughts on the topic of mastery, inspired by my seemingly never-ending journey of improving my capability ​as a coach​. I hope that these thoughts demystify the process of mastery, and help you avoid a few common pitfalls on the path.

Thought #1 – The Path is the Destination

Perhaps we’ll never know how far the path can go, how much a human being can truly achieve, until we realize that the ultimate reward is not a gold medal but the path itself.

George Leonard, Author of “Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment”

There is something about achieving a goal, especially one as lofty as being seen as masterful, that is spellbinding to an ambitious person. The problem with this mode of thinking is that the type of mind that is most capable of achieving mastery is the mind that is not preoccupied with the achievement of anything!

Instead of seeing mastery as a destination, like getting an “A+” on a report card, The Master falls in love with the process of becoming something better and different than they already are. 

The level of learning and growth that comes from such an attitude is unparalleled. It also helps you avoid the biggest pitfall facing anyone who aspires to be great at what they do…

The dreaded plateau. 

Thought #2 – Embrace the Plateau

Anyone on a journey of mastery will inevitably run into diminishing returns, stagnation, or even – gasp! – declining performance in their pursuit of growth.

It’s unavoidable. 

For example, imagine a runner who wants to improve their performance and drop their marathon time from 4 hours to 3:20 and qualify for the Boston Marathon. Such a person, upon hiring a coach and learning new styles of moving, breathing, training and eating; might initially find their running pace slow dramatically (and then stagnate) as their body adapts to a new learning curve. 

The runner – who surely cares deeply about their craft – can lose heart and fall into despair if they don’t understand the nature of mastery and how results flow, in a delayed and unpredictable manner, from changes in activities and approach. They are bound to give up and fall back to previous habits unless they realize what it’s like to be on a learning curve and progress through a sticking point. 

The willingness to take a few steps backward – and sideways – in service of leaping forward at a later date is crucial. However, people are terrible at seeing beyond an immediate lack of results and therefore respond poorly to performance plateaus or sticking points. They are seen as signs of failure instead of precursors to learning and growth. 

In my experience, there are three examples of how people respond to a plateau (the first two are most common):

The Dabbler – will fall into the trap of boredom upon hitting a plateau, and after struggling a bit, give up unless progress quickly resumes. This explains why most people who begin something new (new jobs, new businesses, new habits) quit after the initial progress wanes. A lack of focus and commitment causes the journey to fail at the slightest hint of challenge. 

When The Dabbler sticks with something for the long term (which is rare), performance limps along and often atrophies. There isn’t enough engagement (and learning) to propel them forward. 

The Quick-Fixer – will become incredibly frustrated at the first sign of slowing progress. Their intense desire, however, will impulsively turn them towards quick fixes, life hacks and short (but intense!) bouts of activity in the hope of growth. 

When these hacks fail to live up to their promise (or work at first, only to fail later) and the frenetic activity proves too exhausting, the Quick-Fixer gives up and blames their circumstances (or coach, friends, colleagues, company, etc.) for their lack of success. 

When a Quick-Fixer abandons something they will forever close the door on an entirely new interest or field of study, out of contempt, and move on to what they consider “greener pastures”. They have an all-or-nothing attitude that is fickle and self-limiting. 

The Master – will embrace the plateau and not wish for it to end, any more than they would wish for their times of rapid progress to slow down! They realize that it’s only by completely accepting their current situation that real growth and insight can occur.

The Master isn’t concerned with a slowing of progress, any more than a tree is concerned with the loss of leaves in the Fall season. The Master realizes that sometimes you need to slow down progress initially – or even get worse! – to speed growth up later on.

Thought #3 – Humility is the Key

It’s rare for someone to radically transform how they operate and perform for the better, without putting their ego in check. After all…

It is the ego – the mind’s obsession with its self-importance – that is the primary impediment to mastery. 

In my journey of mastery as a coach, I am continually realizing this firsthand. Lately, I’ve been partnering with a masterful mentor coach (yes, even coaches work with coaches to support their growth!) to enhance my approach to coaching and serving my clients.

Even though I’ve been a professional coach for almost a decade, I’m continually amazed at how much I have to learn. I make rookie coach mistakes. I leave stones unturned. I fumble with words. I don’t always ask the most thought-provoking questions. 

Despite it all, I have learned to embrace these moments as a chance to learn something fresh and new about the craft of coaching. It’s humbling but necessary for growth. It’s required my putting my ego – my sense of high esteem and experience as a coach – on a shelf, so new learning can happen.

This reminds me of the ​old Buddhist proverb​ about a scholar approaching a monk for special teaching, on his journey to spiritual mastery: 

Scholar Tokusan, who was full of knowledge and opinions about the dharma, came to Ryutan and asked about Zen. At one point Ryutan re-filled his guest’s teacup, but did not stop pouring when the cup was full. Tea spilled out and ran over the table. “Stop! The cup is full!” said Tokusan. “Exactly,” said Master Ryutan. “You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can’t put anything in. Before I can teach you, you’ll have to empty your cup.“: 

It takes humility to stop proving how much you know and allow deeper insights and understanding to enter your mind.

While the ego serves a role in helping us stay and feel safe, it also gets in the way of seeing things fresh by defending its level of competence and capability. By doing so, it interferes with the very process by which transformative learning – and mastery – happens.

So if you wish to be masterful – by all means, be confident in your capabilities, but at the same time realize that in the grand scheme of things, you don’t know much!

Be humble. Empty your cup. 

Conclusion

The path of mastery is truly endless. Even when you reach a high level of skill and capability, there is always another level to explore. It therefore makes sense to fully embrace the path as the destination.

As you do so, see the inevitable plateaus and sticking points in your growth, not as signals that you are failing, but that you are on the path and engaged in a learning curve!

Lastly, as hard as it is, keep a sense of humility about you. Not only does it feel nice to cast aside your ego from time to time, but it is also the key to seeing yourself with fresh eyes and unlocking deeper learning and insight. 

Reflection

Let’s conclude by reflecting on your path of mastery:

Where are you on the path of mastery in your life? What would help you embrace your journey – and the inevitable plateaus and sticking points – more fully? 

I would love to hear from you. 

Please leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts!