WTF is Personal Mastery

Ever wondered what separates the top 1% from the rest? What distinguishes world-changers like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King from those who merely dream and lament? It’s not just talent or relentless effort. The secret? Personal Mastery.

This isn't just about getting better at what you do; it's about mastering the art of tapping into your subconscious and self-awareness to actualize your vision. It's about being aware of and able to articulate your dream.

TL;DR

Articulated by Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline, the discipline of Personal Mastery helps you to - Clarify what you want to create in various aspects of your life (relationships, health, work, etc.)  Surface the truth about where you are today relative to each element of your vision. Continue to surface, suspend and update all assumptions that come in the way of you moving from where you are to where you seek to go without lowering the vision.

The Game Plan for Personal Mastery

Step 1: Vision Crafting: Start by defining your ultimate game. What does success look like for you in all areas of your life? Having a clear vision is like setting the destination on your life's GPS. Without it, you're just wandering.

Step 2: Reality Check: Next, get real with yourself. Where are you now compared to where you want to be? This step isn't for the faint-hearted—it's about facing the uncomfortable truths. But guess what? It's also where your power lies.

Adopting Personal Mastery means signing up for a lifelong quest—a journey with no finish line. Here’s what keeps you on track:

1/ Embrace Creative Tension

Comfort zones are overrated. The real magic happens in the space between where you are now and where you want to be. This tension isn't something to shy away from; it's your fuel. This juxtaposition of what we want vs where we currently are generates what is called "Creative Tension".

2/ Challenge Your Inner Critic

Those voices telling you you're not good enough? They're your biggest roadblocks. Recognising and overcoming these limiting beliefs is like unlocking a level in a game that you didn't know existed.

Most of us, even highly successful people harbour deep beliefs of our unworthiness, powerlessness - imposter syndromes and often these beliefs are below the level of conscious awareness. This is often because as children we learn what our limitations are. Often surfacing these limiting assumptions (mental models) and suspending them lightly in front of us is enough to start reducing their sway on us.

3/ Go Deep, Ask - If I had this, what will it bring me?

The vision escalation principle brings it all together. It's what helps us work backwards from our vision to our current reality, towards our limiting beliefs. It's how we keep fine-tuning our vision, deepening our understanding of our true desires, and how they align with our purpose.

We need to deeply understand that visioning is an ongoing, and as such never-ending process. The vision escalation exercise gives us the opportunity to go one level deeper with our vision and ask ourselves - if I had that what would it bring me. Here's a sample excel you can use for your own vision escalation - lease make your own copy.

The Role of Leadership

Leaders play a crucial role in cultivating a culture of personal mastery and learning. By modelling personal mastery themselves, leaders (at home and at work) can influence the culture (what people repeatedly do) profoundly. As leaders you actions, more than your words, serve as a powerful learning tool for others. As such, personal mastery is a foundational element that can transform our social fields.

Make Personal Mastery Work for You

Personal Mastery is not a one-and-done lesson but a daily practice. Start by reflecting on your vision, evaluating your current reality, and identifying actionable steps to bridge the gap. Journaling can be a powerful tool in this process, helping to clarify your thoughts and monitor your progress. Remember - we don't raise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.

Your Next Steps

Spend some time with the vision escalation excel and then some time journaling on what that felt like in your mind/ body system -

• What vision am I holding onto?
• What realities am I facing?
• How does it feel to balance my vision with my current situation?

Quote

People with a high level of personal mastery live in a continual learning mode. They never ‘arrive’. Sometimes, language, such as the term ‘personal mastery’ creates a misleading sense of definiteness, of black and white. But personal mastery is not something you possess. It is a process. It is a lifelong discipline. People with a high level of personal mastery are acutely aware of their ignorance, their incompetence, their growth areas. And they are deeply self-confident. Paradoxical? Only for those who do not see the ‘journey is the reward’. - Peter Senge