Quit Quitting

The jack of all trades, but master of none. The person who starts multiple hobbies, reaches a decent level, just to drop it for the next flavor of the month. Musical instruments, fitness, woodworking, fishing, martial arts, pottery, watersports, conservation, gardening. Hundreds or thousands of hours to become intermediate but fall short before elite mastery. Good, but not the best. Not good enough to teach, to share, to completely understand the mistakes they and others make, and know how to improve them. 

When you’re first learning a skill, you don’t often plan to be a master. You simply enjoy your time doing it, you have fun. There is freedom. There are no rules. You are a beginner so it doesn’t matter if you do something right or wrong. You’re not meant to do well. You can try and fail, and neither you, nor anyone else will judge you. As you develop your practical skills, read a few more books, watch a few more videos, or pick up some classes here and there, you develop a basic understanding beyond the average. Maybe you get a few friends involved, or you start to get known for being good at your chosen discipline. 

What's it gonna be? Hi 5 or nunchuk... 

As you develop, you reach a point in your skill journey where you finally know what you don't know. You have developed such a strong theoretical understanding of your craft, that you finally understand the complexities and the challenges that lie ahead to become a master. This is the tipping point. The point where most give up. The easiest time to justify to yourself that it is the time to quit. At this point, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. But it’s almost impossibly far away. Already, it’s hard for people to have enough time to do the things they love. As your theoretical knowledge increases, so does the practical time creep. The better you get at something, the more often you have to do it. Maybe you have to relearn some fundamentals before you can reach the next step. Each step seems further and further away. It can be overwhelming. 

Become aware when you reach this turning point. Overcome it. Find sources of internal and external motivation. Become socially responsible by joining or teaching classes. Write a blog or produce content in any medium. Set yourself weekly tasks to fulfil, and keep up to date with modern trends or forums even if you cannot set aside time for practical skill sessions.

Bomb defusal has never been easier

It’s not easy becoming a master at a skill or craft. If it was, everyone would be one. However, I often find that a master of one discipline shows natural skill in anything else they pick up. It would seem that without even trying they can reach an intermediate or advanced level in anything. The more often you find yourself quitting for reasons that are within your control, the more often that you’ll find yourself quitting. 

To find the bone, you must first be the bone

Becoming a master at just one discipline changes your perspective on everything:

• You can enjoy your craft in all its glory

• You can teach your skills to others

• You can help others on their own journey

• You can empathize with previous masters that lacked modern resources

• You can empathize with sacrifice

• You know exactly how hard (or easy) it could be to become a master at something else

Seek like-minded communities

The internet and social media age has given us the easiest and most effective way to find high skilled peers in all of history. Youtube, blogs, online lessons, or just simple discord/reddit communities. It has never been easier to find like minded peers who share your passion. Find people with complementary strengths and weaknesses. Learn from each other, and grow.

Don’t be the biggest fish in the pond

Create a solid frame for your journey as a way to quantify your progress. Constantly look at previous master’s works, join webinars with the top minds in your field, and seek out the best mentors in your city and state. Not only will you receive much better guidance than self-guided learning, you’ll be able to frame your journey within theirs by better understanding their history. You’ll also receive real-time feedback, which is immensely helpful for high mechanical-skill disciplines.

Don’t treat it like a hobby, treat it like a job (in a good way)

Break your next steps down into little goals or achievements. Knowing what you don’t know can be helpful if you break up the impossible into achievable goals. Start to track yourself, and use this data analysis to be retro-active with future goals and targets. Document EVERYTHING. Notepad, online, phone, wherever. Document everything. It’s never a bad thing. It will help you consolidate ideas, and provide you a great framework of your own knowledge. Make it a process.

Most importantly (and most often forgotten)

Keep it fun. Constantly remind yourself why you started doing what you do. And maybe one day, you’ll become a master doing so.