The Mastery Paradox: Why Feeling Stuck Means You're Growing
Why true competence feels like incompetence before the breakthrough
"The amateur believes mastery requires clarity. The professional understands clarity emerges from mastery."
Where most quit. You now see the gap between your ability and the skill's demands. This discomfort is progress in disguise - your standards have risen.
The plateau phase. Each repetition builds neural myelin - the biological basis of skill. Progress feels slow because it's structural.
When the skill becomes instinctual. What once required focus now happens effortlessly - the hallmark of true mastery.
Ask: "Does this feel frustratingly hard (Stage 1), effortful but manageable (Stage 2), or automatic (Stage 3)?"
Stage 1: Focus on fundamentals. Stage 2: Isolate weak points. Stage 3: Refine nuances.
Note subtle improvements weekly (e.g., "Faster recovery from mistakes").
"Mastery isn't the absence of struggle. It's the deepening understanding of how struggle transforms into skill."
