The More Mundane Truth behind Dedication, Discipline, and Mastery/Hierarchical Competency.

Here’s The ‘Secret’ to Mastery and Discipline: "Time of inactivity which is really ‘contemplation/semi-meditation’" + “Always Returning in Small Ways/Increments to the Passion Project.”

The More Mundane Truth behind Dedication, Discipline, and Mastery/Hierarchical Competency.

Here’s The ‘Secret’ to Mastery and Discipline:

“Time of inactivity which is really ‘contemplation/semi-meditation’” + “Always Returning in Small Ways/Increments to the Passion Project.”

And Here’s the lie of productivity Gurus:

“Whenever Jordan Peterson or Elon Musk brag about their Work and Productivity, They take the Very Best Day [most outstanding] of Their Whole Career and pretend that they do ‘it/this’ Every Single Day.”

I think in My Own Life it is safe to say that I am in the Top 1% when it comes to Written and Spoken or ‘Verbal’ fluency/articulating.

But I will tell You the Truth about My Life in acquiring this Skill and Ability, or ‘Competency.’ That it doesn’t look anything like “balls to the wall” or “80 Hour Work Weeks,” nor sleeping 4 hours a night. Jordan Peterson is not as honest, Elon Musk is not as honest, neither are Others who as We will see are more akin to braggarts attempting to Elevate themselves against the Rest of Us Who will be cast as failures.

What I offer Here is the opposite of a Brag. I will be candid about My severe limitations and personal weaknesses and foibles. And if You’ve been reading My Substack for the past 3-6 months hopefully You will get to see Me a little more clearly.

Let’s start with My Weaknesses:

-I sleep 10-12 hours a Night.

-It takes Me 2-3 Hours to fall asleep (and I cannot ‘nap’)

-I am lucky to get in Two Hours of Work with so called ‘Intense Focus/Concentration/Flow States’ per day and only reach this target 2-3 days Out of the Week on a ‘Good Week.’

-I have not worked a Job in 5 years.

-I barely graduated from a Bachelor’s Degree.

-I dropped Out of two Masters Programs.

-I am a shut in. I rarely Leave My Condo.

-I Do Not really Exercise.

-I love Sugar and Coffee.

-I Do not often Eat vegetables.

-I have Many Sleepless Nights.

-I have struggled a little bit with Alcohol consumption.

You See that for Someone like Me any prospect of attaining success or ‘height’ in a competence Hierarchy seems slight at best. Next to impossible if You really listen to the ‘Productivity Gurus.’ But I will tell You something They Will Not. Success of a Real Kind or Fibre is not a triumphalist march, it is not a sprint, it is not severely intense ‘frenetic’ activity every single day.

For Me Success has to be made in between the Very Real Failures in Your Life, the things that plague You every day. Whether it be Migraines, Diabetes, IBS, or simply doing Your Laundry. Even the Lives of the Elites are not in a Massive ‘Hurrah’ Each Day.

You have to fit greatness in between Eating, Shitting and Sleeping. And other boring routines of No instant gratification.

…

What I manage to fit in between infrequent visits of intense focus and concentration is long minutes/hours of just sitting and doing nothing. Not quite meditation but at least inactivity. Plenty of Downtime. Semi-meditation, Just time with My thoughts.

And it often takes 2-3 hours for me to fall asleep, so I’ll lie in bed thinking about any which thing for hours each night.

Now My schedule is Highly My Own and is simply not feasible for Many.

But I don’t care about being comported to Any particular path of Others’, I have My Own Path.

Now getting to the part that concerns You.

What does Real Dedication, Discipline and Mastery look like for You or for ‘Us?’

I think that ‘Hoping’ to hit Two Hours a day of a passion project 2-3 days out of the week, spending a lot of time doing nothing or watching movies or tv shows (Yes I recommend this in its moderation as a de-stressor), is a desirable attitude to have.

But here’s the important part, the ‘Secret’ to Mastery and Discipline: “Always Returning in Small Ways/Increments to the Passion Project,” whether it be that You only get 20-30 minutes in a given Day; these small increments spaced between Days and long hours of Thought and semi-meditation. Over the Course of 10-20 years. This is what Really Makes a Master.

Whenever Jordan Peterson or Elon Musk brag about their Work and Productivity, They take the Very Best Day [most outstanding] of Their Whole Career and pretend that they do ‘it/this’ Every Single Day.

Peterson claims to work 12-14 hours a day but in other settings claims that He can only do ‘Intense Focus’ [reading and Writing] for 2-3 Hours a day: So what is he doing for Upwards of 9 hours that is not reading or writing and which he classifies as Work? God Knows, [what qualifies as ‘work’ for Him] I think He’s exaggerating. Or Elon Musk claims He can sleep for 4 hours and Work Just fine, How Frequently is this happening? Is he sleeping only 4 hours a night for the full length of 7 days a week. Or did He just have a bad nights sleep one day of the week and still had to work. What is the frequency and intensity for the Large Proportion of Days. I think both of these guys are exaggerating to be braggadocios and self-elevating, They take their ‘Best’ day and make it seem like they do it every day. It’s really all about the average and proportions over long-periods and with many days added Up.

Ever Since I could Read since I was 10-11 years old, I can count on One Hand how many times I’ve read for 8 hours a day [3-5 times] perhaps. Or 7-12 days of ‘Six’ Hours of reading. Total over My life from  range of 11-28 years Old.

Most days I am grateful to Get in 2 hours of dedicated Reading or Writing and again it is the frequency that is Integral Here. If I hit this 2-hour target for 3 days out of the Week I am lucky. Some Weeks its only 1 day that I hit the 2-hour reading mark.

And there will be 2 week stretches where I really don’t feel like Reading at all.

The Key Point is, I keep returning to It. I take plentiful and bountiful periods of Rest and Respite. Time of inactivity which is really ‘contemplation/semi-meditation.’ Then I am fat and happy to return to My Labours when I do.

“Just watch time-lapse logs where people practice the piano for two-hours each day for a year [or even 5 years]. Their progress on that instrument is breathtaking and it is mirrored whenever You pick up any skill in such a manner [reading/writing/dancing/painting].”

It should also be Noted that I do not Party any more since I was 25 years Old.

And I consider Friday and Saturday part of My Working Week [if indeed I am doing work].

In the past I used Alcohol But Always found that Drinking would utterly wreck All Aspects of My Life from sleep, to semi-meditation, to working.

And I use no drugs apart from prescribed medications.

But I always return to the Laptop to write, always return to the front of my iPhone to record video monologues, and I always return to Read the most meaningful pieces of literature I can fathom in the moment.

Day by Day, Week by Week for 15 Years; What will You Master in the Time allotted to You? What is Meaningful to You Before the Sight of God?

In Jesus’ Name Amen.