Personal mastery can help us develop confidence and open doors in a competitive world. But for some of us, mastery has a dark side: when the perceived lack of mastery becomes an excuse for not doing/being/having what we want.

By Webster's definition, mastery is "possession or display of great skill or technique". Obviously, seeking mastery in one's profession is a positive trait and a marker of future success. Think of something you really want for yourself professionally. A promotion? A new business opportunity? A career change? A big raise? A chance to prove that you can do something different? Now complete this sentence:

I want to _______________________,

• but ...(select from the list below)
  • …I don't have the credentials
  • …I don't have enough experience
  • …I need to learn more
  • …I need more training
  • …people will think I'm not qualified / good enough
  • …_??____________________________

Professional requirements for mastery are there for a good reason. I don't want a first-year intern taking out my appendix! But we enter the dark side when our internal requirements for mastery exceed those of the outside world. For example, my husband (who has kindly given me permission to bare his own personal dark side) is a semi-professional photographer with a gift for lighting and a passion for teaching. Don wants to: offer a lighting class for amateur photographers who want to explore the mystery of studio lighting for the first time, but doesn't have enough experience and others in his profession might think he is not qualified to teach lighting. This is a very real barrier for Don and prevents him from doing something he would enjoy and that amateur photographers would get great benefit from. You may know of someone in your world who collects credentials but doesn't use them. Or perhaps you always view others as more qualified for a promotion than you are.

So how do you move from "I'll be ready when…" to taking your current toolkit out into the world? Often we develop our mastery barriers in a vacuum, so one great equalizer is to do an external test of your assumptions. The dark side of mastery doesn't hold up well under the bright light of examination. By seeking qualified feedback and testing the waters with some initial actions, you just might find that true mastery comes from moving forward, not holding back!

Tips for exposing the dark side:

• Sometimes feeling a gap in mastery can become a barrier for gaining skills necessary to become a master. Ask yourself if you are avoiding learning something new because you feel you should know it already. The energy you put into "hiding" your skill gap is often much higher than the energy required to learn the skill!
• Share your "I want to__, but ___" with several people you trust and listen to their feedback. How much of your inner mastery requirement is truly valid?
• Ask yourself if there is an excuse hidden behind your mastery barrier. This can be a BIG awakening and the real gremlin of the dark side! What would you feel compelled to do if your mastery barrier was suddenly lifted? Is there something scary lurking about back there?
• Now that you have a more balanced perspective of your mastery requirements, what small step can you take to move towards your "I want to___"? It takes action to get there, so don't wait around for the Mastery Fairy to bang you on the head with her wand!

Don't let the dark side get in the way of you becoming the master of your own fate. Only you can lift this barrier and say "I want to ___ and I am getting there!"

Resources

For some specific ideas on expanding your personal mastery, read this article on The Top 200 Secrets of Success and the Pillars of Self-Mastery.

"Personal mastery entails honing our effectiveness in the world through brave self observation." To learn more about the bright side of personal mastery and the learning organization, read this article about Executives and the Discipline of Personal Mastery.