We get excited about the new gear. The first time we hit the ball over the net. Telling our friends we started playing guitar. The identity shift - "I work out in the mornings before work." The beginning. The early rewards.
What happens one month, two months, or three months down the line? Well, many of us quit. Myself included. I often would tell myself that it was a "strategic pivot" because that endeavor (fill in the blank with whatever it was) - was not for me.
There is some truth to that. Just because you did ballet for a year when you were four does not mean you must be a ballerina for life. Other things called out for your time. We DO make strategic pivots. So when is that the case versus just quitting whenever the going gets tough in any skill acquisition? How do we stick with something and master it? How do we break past sticking points and plateaus?
This episode is about breaking the cycle of quitting and joining the cycle of mastery. We discuss the book Mastery by George Leonard - and how to climb to the next level, we have to learn to love the plateau. We will often be on a plateau for a while before taking a small jump, and this process will repeat many times throughout skill acquisition. We can learn to love the process though. I am still working on this, and this video/podcast includes some thoughts on the subject. I would love to hear your thoughts as well in the comments below.
Youtube episode at this link:
And podcast episode is here:
Here is the mastery graph from the book Mastery by George Leonard referenced in the podcast episode.
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