Photo by Dan Aponte (@just.dan.thingz).
I wasn’t happy. I felt weird, and I didn’t know why.
Well, besides not being able to teach or train jiu-jitsu for the past few weeks due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, I didn’t know what else was getting me down.
While at home, I couldn’t manage to write anything worth keeping, and I become more frustrated with every subsequent sip of coffee I took.
Sips were turning to gulps. Something needed to change.
I walked over to my pull up bar, grabbed onto the metal, and started pulling my body through space.
It had been a few days since I began the Russian Fighter Pull Up Program. Popularized by kettlebell guru and strength and conditioning expert Pavel Tsatsouline, the program is said to increase a person’s total pull-ups by 2-3 times by the end of the 30 days of training.
When I was finished with my pull-ups, I put on my shoes and left the house running. I was by no means an elite runner, but I was actively trying to shave a few seconds off my 5km time.
Even a shade of improvement made me smile, and that’s all I needed on a day like this.
But why am I only starting to feel good now? I thought to myself.
I’ve been running and doing pull-ups for weeks. Why is this different?
I think it’s because, for the longest time, I was just going through the motions. I was doing pull-ups, but just for the sake of the workout and because I figured I would feel better after getting them done.
Actively trying to get better at a skill is captivating, engaging, and just all-around fun. That’s part of why jiu-jitsu is so addictive: there is so much to learn, and it’s so easy to get lost in the art (in a good way).
I realized that it was this – the pursuit of mastery – that was making me happy.
Why?
What is Mastery?
Here’s Oxford’s definition.
Mastery: comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment.
So, basically mastery means to be really good at something.
But I’ve learned that there is no finish line when it comes to mastery.
Nobody ever gets to a certain point of competency and says, “that’s it, there’s nowhere to improve from here!”
When you think about it, the mastery part isn’t actually that important. It doesn’t really matter whether or not you become the best 5km runner in the world.
Rather, the pursuit of mastery and the intention to improve is where the real value lies.
When I decided to increase my max pull-up count and run a faster 5km, I went on the pursuit of mastery.
And as I reflect, I realized this is what made me happy.
Why?
Mastery and Purpose
Maybe it’s just my survival instincts making me feel good for acting like a useful human being. Or maybe trying to get good at a skill is just enough to distract me from sitting around and sulking about existentialism.
When I am actively trying to get better at a skill – no matter what it is – I feel happy.
However, this feeling is amplified when the activity holds meaning, which is one of the reasons why jiu-jitsu is such an important part of my life.
I believe the pursuit of mastery makes me happy because I am assigning purpose to my time, energy, and effort.
Suddenly, I want to eat well, sleep well, and do everything I can to help me achieve my goals. I consider my goals when I go through my daily routine, and it keeps my mind occupied in such a way that I stay happy, grateful, and satisfied.
Meaning and purpose contribute to form my identity. My identity, in turn, shapes my thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
The pursuit of mastery keeps my mind occupied. And if I’m to be completely honest, I believe its this good kind of distraction that keeps me happy.
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