Mastery: Our Nations Missing Mantra

 

Mastery is such a fascinating topic! As I am reading through the book "Mastery: the Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment" I have come to realize that we as a nation are trading mastery for quick- fix, instant gratification, entertainment and pleasure. I am fearful of what the future will hold for us and how long we will be able to maintain our freedoms as we pursue paths that lead to addiction, idleness, and apathy. We are learning to make everything easy and to avoid hard things. We want something for little or nothing invested. There is a quote that explains this in the book, " The same climate of thought that would lead some people to the promise that they can learn a new skill or lose weight without patient come a long-term effort leads others to the promise of great riches without the production of value in return."

We need to change the narrative and open our eyes to the truth that anything worth getting will require hard work and effort. Otherwise, it probably isn't worth much! This is one of my biggest concerns for my children. I see some of them wanting everything to be fun and easy and when they are confronted with something that requires a great amount of effort, they quickly lose interest and decide they aren’t that interested after all. I have been trying to figure out how to inspire them to choose SOME path of determined effort and growth. I want them to create a vision for themselves and then start to work step-by-step to create their dreams for themselves. First, they need to start to sincerely dream. I hope to change this narrative for my children and those who I have influence on. I can start with myself and go from there. As I pursue hard fought successes and continue to improve myself, I can inspire others to do the same. As I make small incremental improvements day by day and week by week, I can model the method of self-improvement and eventual self-mastery. If enough parents and leaders become aware of this epidemic of idle free loading and avoidance of discomfort of any kind, then maybe we can change the tides in our great nation, one person at a time.