Pick A Mastery

For as much as I am a man of the mind, I also am a very physical person. I have a great deal of respect for professionals in martial arts, dancing, gymnastics, in most any physical field. I studied martial arts for over a decade and, although my goals have changed over those years, the underlying desire is unchanged: I desire a mastery over the human body.

I find the most amazing thing a person can do is make their body do whatever they want it to. Seeing free runners leaping across rooftops or flipping through an obstacle course is astonishing and magnificent. Nothing can feel more free than being unlimited by your body (or at least less limited than most people).

Though I tend not to think of it, a very similar thing happens in writing and in storytelling. It is not an easy process and is not a natural thing to people. Learning interesting words, weaving them into melodic sentences, and applying it all to compelling stories can be quite arduous. And yet, professional storytellers can rattle off a beautiful story like it's nothing.

All mastery is beautiful. And since we're all nerds, we are all halfway toward mastering something already. Now, in that linked post, I said that some people are nerds because they have a little knowledge about a great deal of subjects. This is true, but you can't quite master having basic knowledge of subjects (feel free to prove me wrong though). And in that case, I really do suggest that you pick a mastery. It is a goal that makes for a lifetime of study and dedication and, if you do ever leave that course of practice, you will still have a tremendous amount of knowledge and ability that you carry with you (and you will probably not even realize how much of it you've absorbed over the years).