The secret to expanding your mindset and living your best life

There is a word, a concept, a principle, that wasn’t part of my world until I experienced coaching. And once introduced, I found myself unable to let go. It’s as if I’d been searching for so long to understand if it was normal to want more, to desire more, to go after more..

It allowed me to continue to be at my best without the pressure to be the best. To compare. To compete. To control… Rather than feeling constricted I felt space around me to improve, to learn, and to grow. It put me into a place of peace rather than perfection. It allowed me to slow down to be in the process instead of running to win the race. It created a critical shift in my work both as an employee and eventually, as a full-time solopreneur.

What is this concept that I’ve been so enlightened by? 

Mastery. 

Boom. 

It kind of hits you, doesn’t it? 

It’s a big word that holds big meaning for many. But when we strip back the layers it can actually be liberating as it lifts us from the clutter of needing to prove something and leads us to what we want: a focus on what lights us up.

“We fail to realize that mastery is not about perfection. It’s about a process, a journey. The master is the one who stays on the path day after day, year after year. The master is the one who is willing to try, and fail, and try again, for as long as he or she lives.”

-George Leonard from Mastery

When we take a step back and see mastery as something that requires time, patience, and perseverance, it creates space. Rather than rushing to learn everything all at once with the need to know the perfect answer, we can slow down and be in the process of learning. When we let go of the pressure to be the expert or authority, it opens up the path of potential and possibility. This shift allows us to see that the joy of learning isn’t in the achievement of mastering something, but in the practice of mastery: of commitment, of showing up day after day, of continuing to test, try, experiment, and fail, and to do it all over again. 

This is, in a nutshell, one way of describing personal development: a lifelong journey of commitment to understanding ourselves at the deepest level to better engage, operate, and contribute in the world. Or some would call it, self mastery. After all, isn’t the ultimate goal in life the mastery of ourselves? To develop a deep understanding of who we are: to uncover all of the unconscious bits and bring them to life through a heightened sense of self awareness that allows us to operate from a place of authenticity. Like most things worth the commitment of mastery, understanding yourself takes a lifetime of effort. 

“If we intend to be a master of our lives—in our self-development, our intimate and professional relationships, our work, our hobbies—we need to practice the skills inherent to mastering that subject AND make that practice a practice.”

- Brian Johnson

Being in the practice of and having the intention of learning and expanding into who you are, is in and of itself self mastery. And as you tune in to yourself, you’ll open the door to a wealth of opportunity to embrace mastery. For example, I had a conversation with a client where we talked about confidence. While it was something she wanted to check off the list, to remove self-doubt, fear, and imposter syndrome in one session, we saw the opportunity to approach confidence as something to choose each and everyday, to show up with confidence, speak up with confidence, over and over again - to practice it day in and day out. The work is never “done” because as we commit to our practice, we’re always growing into our next level of confidence. 

That’s the cool thing about mastery: there may be no end - and that’s okay. Self mastery is a lifelong commitment to learning, understanding, testing, and trying. It is a gift that creates space for us to better understand ourselves and the world around us. In our commitment to ourselves, we allow for permission to slow down: after all, what are you in a rush for? The end is, well, the end, and I have no need to get there faster. 

Where in your life are you focused on mastery?

In what part of your life are you showing up day after day in pursuit of something more? 

Kirsten Schmidtke is a professional coach, speaker, and lover of lake life. She works with leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to help them up-level their careers, businesses, and lives. Are you ready to explore what’s possible for you? Contact Kirsten to start the conversation!