Since the beginning of time, when there’s a problem running wild around the world, a movement rises to provide a solution.
It starts with a front runner who creates the first product, course, book or program. Then others add their expertise to the fray until there is so much noise that it’s hard to know where to look to find a solution.
Within months there can be millions of ‘solutions’ available – and they’ll likely all contradict one another.
As individuals, we’re left with our heads spinning, trying to work out which ‘expert’ has the solution that’s right for us.
We start one thing, then get bored when it doesn’t work for us and move on to the next. We’re left seriously out of pocket and we’re uninspired, unmotivated and without a solution to our problem.
What’s the missing link?
We watch segments of the health and wellness industry become fashionable, grow, expand, contract and then be replaced with the next thing. But the health and wellbeing of individuals around the globe has only deteriorated.
We’re educated, working hard … and of course, we’re busier than ever.
There’s way more information, tools and resources available to us than ever before.
So, why is it that our health and wellbeing continue to decline?
These solutions don’t work for us because they leave out a critical element: personal mastery.
So, what is personal mastery?
Also known as ‘self-mastery’, personal mastery is where you have the power or control over anything and everything to do with yourself.
It’s a process of living in a way where you purposefully, deliberately and consciously work towards a vision that is aligned to your values. Whilst doing this, you step into a state of constant learning about yourself and the reality within which you live.
Basically, it’s creating a set of strategies that allow you to step into personal growth knowing yourself, inside and out.
So, is it inherited, or is it acquired?
Self-mastery is acquired. It’s not genetic or inherited – it’s available to everyone who is prepared to do the work to attain it.
Every master was once an apprentice. They all started at the beginning and immersed themselves into the process of becoming self-acquainted.
And that’s the crux of personal mastery. At the heart of it, it’s about deliberately getting to know yourself and accepting ALL the pieces.
Understand who you are. What makes you tick? What triggers you? What makes you smile? What warms your heart? What inspires you? What steals your motivation?
Get curious about yourself and your life and you will have begun your apprenticeship.
Why do you care whether you have it?
There’s no rule that says you have to acquire personal mastery.
But, if you feel like your life (or your health) is out of control and you’re always looking to someone else to provide you with a solution, then maybe it’s time to give self-mastery a go instead.
We’ve been taught that being informed is important – it’s why so many of us rely on news outlets and social media platforms to tell us what is going on in the world.
But more important than that is the imperative for us to be informed about our own self.
Before you can move forward and significantly change your life, you must understand your self – your body, your mind, and yourself as a total person.
Doing this allows you to know your strengths and the points where you’re more vulnerable. Knowing who you are, how you react, how you can be swayed from your path, where you get lost, how you find your way again … these are all things that help you to consciously connect with your life and to what is happening in every moment.
When you have self-mastery, it’s easier to move with the ebb and flow of life without being side‑swiped when things come up.
So, how do you start?
Every journey towards success involves the self.
We invest in knowledge as a way of getting ahead, but people who embody personal mastery know that it is smarter to invest in the self.
Start to see your life as your biggest and most important project.
Too often, we put off the work on ourselves till later, but we all know that later never comes.
When you deliberately take a ‘creative’ approach to your life, you’re no longer left putting out the bushfires that come with a ‘reactive’ approach.
So many people will tell you to focus on being a better version of yourself, but I believe that’s half the problem.
Focus instead on creating a life that honours and celebrates the whole version of yourself. It’s never about the destination, it’s always about what’s happening in this moment, right now. It’s about how you can evolve and nurture and grow from what you’re experiencing.
Here are four things to focus on to get you started:
- Understand yourself – who are you? What’s important to you? What makes you get out of bed in the morning? What makes it easier for you to sleep at night? How do you connect with the world? What do you feel, think, see … and so on. Know who you are and what makes you tick.
- Create a clear vision – once you know yourself and what it is you need, the next step is to create the vision that gets you to where you want to go, and that gives you what you need along the way.
- Enable constant growth – get curious about how you react in different situations. See mistakes and failure as an opportunity to look at things differently. See challenges as a sign to stop and work out what there is for you to learn. Start to consciously connect to what is happening for you in the moment so you can choose whether you’d like to experience things a different way.
- Allow a broader perspective – we see things through the filters we have been given, and that we develop through our experiences of life. Take the opportunity to stop and ask how you can see the same situation from a different angle. What does it look like if you take just one step to the left? How does the perspective change? The broader your perspective, the more solutions and opportunities you can see.
The multitude of benefits around personal mastery await anyone who is prepared to invest in their own self. Will you take yourself to the next level?
If want some help to start to experience ways to step into personal mastery, then dive into my free email series which you can get by clicking here. It’s full of 7 of my favourite steps to overcome overwhelm, reduce stress, take back control and keep things super simple.
Bronwen Sciortino is a Simplicity Expert, an internationally renowned author and professional speaker and. You can follow her at her website; Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
