19 Feb What is MASTERY in a VUCA World?

Let’s talk about MASTERY.

I use the word quite often. Mastery is an obsession for me.

My upcoming Masterclass is called, How to Become a World Class Transformational Coach, which means, “How to be a Master at what you do.”

What does Mastery mean in a VUCA world?  VUCA is a term that means volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. It’s a good description of the constant and unpredictable change that’s now the norm.

What skills do you need to master in order to navigate a churning ocean, or a hurricane, or our social-political-economic-cultural-environmental war- ground?

Here are my conclusions. I’d love to hear yours.

1) Stay Awake, Centered and Grounded

This is the ability to keep your head on straight while others around you are losing theirs. It’s the stand you take in the eye of the hurricane, watching the chaos without getting caught up in it or reacting to it. It gives you more options for responding appropriately when difficulties arise. Staying awake means being aware of ALL aspects of yourself – physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, energetic, relational, and worldly (as an economic and political citizen in the larger social structure).

It means knowing your needs, wants, and desires, your moods and your intentions, your place and your identity as a complex every-changing force of nature. It means knowing your environment and the humans around you, understanding your philosophy, psychology, and physiology. It’s being observant and caring in your relationships, and remaining grounded in the shifting reality of this world.

It means remembering who you are beyond this one short physical life, as an evolving soul, and the true purpose you’re here for.

2) Use Your VIrtues in the Midst of Temptation

Oscar Wilde said, “The only thing I cannot resist is temptation.”  Today, temptation is everywhere all the time, 24/7/366. There is a constant flow of emails, social media, junk food, reality shows, 500 channels of crap on TV, news feeds and the news itself, and that supercomputer you can slip into your pocket.  Our brain-mind is an addiction-based machine. We are easily addicted to substances, ideas, traumas, relationships, pleasures… the list is endless.

Mastery is remembering what’s important to you, what you value, and which virtues you are actively practicing.*  When you use your principles as the foundation of your choices (rather than the latest dopamine syringe), you can stay healthy and happy rather than sick and lonely. This means saying “No” to the endless parade of temptations. That ability is usually called willpower, but a better way to think about it is virtue-power, value-power, and purpose-power.  You’re here on Earth to accomplish something important. Let that purpose be your guide when you choose where to place your attention.

3) Use Expedition Thinking and Have the Right Tools

If you decide to climb a great mountain or explore a jungle, you first do a lot of research. You consult with experts, gather the right companions, and make sure you have the maps, tools and equipment you need to make the long journey and deal with unknowns.

Your life is an expedition, and when you take it as seriously as climbing Everest, you can be prepared for whatever happens next. What maps are you using to navigate through your life? What experts are you learning from? Have you developed the strengths and skills you need to get from here to the end of your life? Do you have companions who are mutually committed to everyone’s well being?  Do you have the equipment and tools to deal with the many ways things can go wrong?

The Clear Beliefs Method is a specialized tool-set for getting through the jungle of life to your destination. In a thick jungle, the tool you use the most is a machete for clearing whatever is in your way at the moment (in the jungle of your belief system). With this one tool, you can then move forward, one step at a time, and get through the entire jungle to your destination.

4) Become Comfortable with the Unknown

This may be the most difficult skill to master – because it goes against our deepest programming. To our early hominid ancestors, Unknown = Danger.  A rustling in the grass could be the wind, or a predator looking for a tasty snack. Our brains want to know what is so and what it means, because Known = Safe. This is one of the underlying mechanisms of our belief system. We constantly identify patterns in our environment and categorize them for survival. This means that the brain would rather have certainty than truth – it’s better to know something that ISN’T so than it is to NOT-know, because not-knowing creates the feeling of intense anxiety.

The brain is an efficient predictive machine. A lot of the brain’s energy is dedicated to remembering the past (especially negative experiences) and predicting or projecting what could happen in the future. This mechanism is fantastic for surviving in an environment where everything known stays pretty much the same. But that’s not the environment we live in today.

Our brains and egos were not designed for a VUCA world, where everything changes all the time and information overload is always present. We need to re-design ourselves for this new environment.

To function as a Master in this world requires the ability to sit comfortably in the unknown, alert and awake, without the need to know for sure. You stay firmly seated in the present moment, responding from your deep knowing of yourself – especially when that knowing includes your chosen virtues, values, and divine purpose.

Is this easy?

No, it requires a lot of inner work.

Is it important?  

Absolutely – if you have the ambition to create a better future and want to thrive in this rapidly shifting world.

Is it worth the effort? 

Yes.  Ask any Master.

Then ask if they will take you on as an apprentice.

I would love to hear your thoughts. What do you believe you need to master to thrive in your life?

May you find your way to Mastery and create a great life for yourself, your loved ones, and the generations to come.

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