Mastery
“One
reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our
focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through
life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
Tony
Robbins
I have a problem with Tony Robbins
assessment of people. It feels a lot like “one-size-fits-all,” which in my
world view, means it fits no one. First, define “mastery.” I have known people
who started as children to hone a particular skill—like tennis, or piano, or
swimming—and continued that pursuit for their entire lives. I’ve known folks
who took jobs in high school and never looked back. My parents had a neighbor
who taught 6th grade in the same school for 47 years. There are
people who don’t mind doing the same job day after day, year after year; in
fact, they enjoy the predictability of it. That is one way to master something,
but not the only way.
There
are people who would wilt and die in that situation; for whom working at the
same job for fifty years would be deadly. They, instead, like to create something
new from scratch. A business, a community, a product, a non-profit—the part
that energizes them is the creation of it. Once it’s up and running and things
become routine, they move on to other interests. Then, there are what I call the
“next step” folks. They start something and take it to its logical point of routine
operation, and then they explore what else could be done with it. In other words,
they expand upon what has already been done. Maybe some part of the job appeals
to them more than another and they have a hankering to follow that interest to
the exclusion of others. That, too, can lead to mastery.
There
are all kinds of people. I’ve always marveled at those who take a job and stay
with it until the end of time. I’m so glad
we have them. They give stability to our workforce and serve as mentors and trainers.
I’m also glad we have people who spark new ideas, create new entities. We need
all of these and more—we need the ones who do the everyday stuff so that
innovators have the freedom to create something entirely new. The peacemakers,
the caregivers, the strategizers, and the music makers—all are welcome under
the tent. Mastery may even extend to people who have an idea, express it, and
then leave the blueprint to others. It might extend to folks who have never had
a music lesson in their lives, but who sit down at a piano and begin to play
harmonious music—who create extemporaneously.
Diversity is the word for
all of this, and it is desirable for all species, both plant and animal, and
for every pursuit of humankind. Diversity is the gift the One who created us
for different tasks and purposes. That involved some trial and error don’t you
think; some “dabbling” as Tony Robbins called it. And, aren’t we grateful that
our creator didn’t make just one kind of human and then throw away the mold? How
boring would that be?
In the Spirit,
Jane
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