How to Achieve Mastery
Mastery requires patience.
James Clear, Atomic Habits
This summer, my husband and I went on a trip to Yosemite and made a stop at El Capitan. As we walked toward a grassy area for a photo, there were two men sitting on camping chairs with telescopes in front of them. With curiosity, we looked in the same direction that their telescopes were pointing to, but we didn’t understand what they were looking at. A person nearby pointed out a tiny moving spec on the wall between the evergreens. It was a person climbing! They were still at the lower half of the mountain and had about two thousand feet above them. I had so many questions. How steep is that? How long will it take them? It’s a 3,000-ft high granite wall! They say El Capitan is for master climbers, which makes sense because you would be taking a huge risk if you don’t know what you are doing.
After our trip, we learned about Alex Honnold, the free soloist who climbed El Capitan. Free soloing means that there is no harness, no ropes, no attachments, just you, a chalk bag and a mountain. In his Ted Talk, Honnold explained how he was able to climb El Capitan like “a walk in the park”. He started rock climbing as a child and had a great passion for it. When he climbed Yosemite’s Half Dome, he chose a challenging route that almost risked his life. He eventually made it to the top but was left unsatisfied by his performance. He said, “I didn’t want to be a lucky climber, I want to be a great one”. When he finally had the courage to climb El Capitan, he knew that he had to master the route. He called it a “dance”, a “routine” and he had to learn his partner, the mountain, well. As he practiced, he determined where he would get the most secure grip and foot placement to make it safely to the summit. On the day of his climb, he was able to look at the wall with confidence and he felt at ease the higher he climbed. He knew exactly what to do without any doubts.
When you take a look at your life, what are the areas you hope to master? Is it your spiritual life, yourself, a skill or your vocation? Achieving mastery is not easy. It takes patience, persistent practice, risk taking, tons of failure, and loads of learning. It requires adopting good form, flexibility and stronger muscles (physically and metaphorically speaking). Even professional musicians can be challenged by a very difficult piece after a few weeks without practicing. Elite athletes who were previously injured have to recover and rebuild themselves mentally and physically to be able to perform at the same caliber they were at before their injury. When it comes to self-mastery, it takes an entire lifetime of learning and growing.
Self-mastery is a long and exacting work. One can never consider it acquired once and for all. It presupposes renewed effort at all stages of life.
CCC 2342
Mastery requires daily renewed effort to maintain great skill. It is not a one and done deal. It is long suffering work, but it is worth it. People will go to incredible heights, lengths and depths to seek experiences of purpose, meaning and fulfillment.
Upon reading Matthew 11:28-30, I noticed the title being “The Gentle Mastery of Christ”. Christ mastered meekness and humility. He tells us that by taking His yoke, and learning from Him, we will find rest. Knowing that these virtues are the foundation for all virtue, it will not only bring rest, but also love, peace, joy, goodness and hope. Jesus is showing us that we can learn His gentle mastery by being yoked to Him. It is a dance. We will feel clunky at the beginning, as if we have two left feet. By learning our partner, who is Christ, and remaining linked to him, we will flow into rhythm of who He is. With patience and perseverance, it will be like a walk in the park.
The beauty of partnering with God is that He can work wonders with our surrender, His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), He increases when we decrease (John 3:30) and anything that is seemingly impossible is made possible (Matthew 19:26). We only need to trust in Him and He will show us His way.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”
Matthew 11:29
Summary
Achieving mastery is not easy. It takes patience, persistent practice, risk taking, tons of failure, and loads of learning.
Mastery is a dance and you have to learn your partner well.
Mastery takes daily renewed effort to maintain great skill. It is not a one and done deal. It is long suffering work, but it is worth it.
Jesus is showing us that we can learn His gentle mastery by being yoked to Him.
The beauty of partnering with God is that He can work wonders with our surrender, His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), He increases when we decrease (John 3:30) and anything that is seemingly impossible is made possible (Matthew 19:26).
