Effort is the Pathway to Mastery

“It doesn’t get easier. You just get faster” Greg Lemond, Tour de France winner three times (1986, 1989 and 1990) and is considered by many to be the greatest American cyclist of all time.

It is not so much about Greg Lemond, but more about the meaning of the quote. I see it every Friday morning during my indoor cycling class. It reminds me not of the pain I am enduring, but the mental tenacity to understand that as you practice a skill set you become more efficient at it which allows you to build to the next level of mastery.

You become proficient at the new level of mastery, and it seems easier to maintain, until you feel you can learn that much more to reach a higher level of proficiency.

In the words of Growth Mindset guru, Carol Dweck, “Effort is the pathway to mastery.”

For Greg Lemond the effort was pushing his physical and mental self through the pain barriers to be the World Champion Road Cyclist.

For us mere mortals who do not aspire to be World Champions, but just better at who we are and how we show up, it still comes down to effort.

Effort into what? You can’t be putting energy into everything at the same time and expect a positive outcome in all areas.

However, I believe, to be the best version of you as a leader of teams or of students, it is beneficial to have a personal challenge that contributes to a better you.

I love the four challenges of self as a starting point:

What could I do less of?

What could I do more of?

What could I stop?

What could I start?

My challenge for this term is to start using social media as an avenue to support educators to be their best self, more often.

This will be hard for me as it does not come easy. I feel uncomfortable. I acknowledge this challenge as a wade through the Valley of Disappointment or better known as the Learning Pit.

I have support through my Practice Manager, Chantelle Penny. I have the motivation to help more people. I have what it takes. It won’t get easier. I’ll just get better on my way to mastery.

What personal challenge will you decide on this term?