In this day and age, it is a positive and productive practice to multitask. It's `smiled upon to have multiple things going at once. "Keep yourself busy," they say. "Most people have a lot going on," they say. I don't know what "they" say to you, but I have personally heard a lot of these phrases and more along those lines. Why is it that we want to be so well balanced, yet we don't focus on one thing to improve at a time? Is balance considered being an expert at everything, or a master of nothing? I want to take a deeper dive into what a focused effort on a certain area can do for the way you attack all areas of your life.
"How you do one thing is how you do everything."
- Anon
I watched all but the last season of Game of Thrones. Arya was one of my favorite characters. In one of the seasons, she travels to the House of Black and White to become No One. In this span of time, she committed to one thing that in turn allowed her to be many things. In retrospect, this was a great example of the commitment needed to expose yourself to more things. Devotion, focus, and determination are key in what is known to be "one-dimensional" work.
I can name countless times where I spread my attention thin trying to do a multitude of things at once. Even with this blog, I often try to do more that what I need or bite off more than I can chew at one time. It's not healthy. I've learned that having a devoted time of focus is vital to producing work that is at the pinnacle of our own creativity. I've also learned that sporadic work--though creative--isn't our best. Anything less than our best shouldn't be offered.
What is gained by focusing on one thing? Proficiency. Prowess. Aptitude of the task that is honed. Our intangible skills are what we reap and sow into our material and physical works. Who are we to try to be a expert in everything? I believe in being the master of nothing. Gaining the ability to work at weaknesses to be well rounded are the most important and gives a stronger capability to make yourself available amongst a variety of tasks. If you think that the best stop striving to be the best just because they're the best, then your understanding of what it takes to be at the zenith of what you do is skewed. Learn that you will always be deficient, and you will never lack in being in a place of abundance when it comes to building yourself.
The master of none is a master indeed. An expert usually consults a master. However, a master is a master because they've done everything wrong. They've failed in multiple aspects. They've seen it all before. For these reasons, they are the best at what they do. Where do you lack? How will you shore up on it? The plan will be, and should be, a plan of commitment.
- II
- II