It is good to aspire to lofty ideals, but it can also be quite intimidating if you can’t imagine how to get to there from here. Looking at people that have achieved the mastery you aspire to can be intimidating, until you realise that they too started from where you are and that there are intermediate steps that you need to go through before reaching their level. You have to pay your dues. Continually challenging yourself is a way to ensure you continue progressing and do not become stagnant. Another aspect of the process is to be honest with yourself about your current skill level. This is especially important in more risky pursuits. You can push yourself, but within limits. You can jump in the deep end of the pool, but it might not be a good idea to attempt crossing the English channel just yet. Keep track of your ability and extend and push yourself, but do not over extend. Be patient with yourself; this is easy if you compare your current ability with where you started from and see how far you have already progressed. Even if you think you are worse now than when you started, at least now you know enough to know this, whereas at the beginning you may not have had enough knowledge to assess your level. Keep chunking up and enjoy each step as part of your journey to mastery.
Babysteps
17 02 2009
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Reading this makes me wonder, do you ever think about this as you watch your two children develop. So many people think of them as kids, not quite little human beings with feelings, emotions and the same struggles we have as adults.
Definitely, they keep pushing themselves, progressing, but in a gradual steady fashion. If you look into their eyes it is almost impossible to see them as just kids. They are basically people that are still getting used to their bodies and to how the world around them operates.