The Reiter Coaching Letter - April 16, 2002

The Reiter Coaching Letter

For Creating the Life You Want

Issue 15

www.stevereiter.com

April 16, 2002

The Reiter Coaching Letter: a bi-weekly newsletter of inspiration, resources, humor, and challenge... and a quick read.
Written & Published by Steve Reiter, MS, PCC www.stevereiter.com
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Mastery

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

-- Winston Churchill

Once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget how to fall off!
-- Steve Reiter

Dear Friend,

Mastery: The Example
My daughter, Emmi, will be six years old in July. Every day she is a perfect example of what it means to live a life of masterful learning.

The Challenge of the Two-Wheeler
Late last Fall, we removed her training wheels, lowered her seat, and took off her pedals. With her feet to assist in balancing, she would roll down our too-steep driveway, following chalk-drawn curves. By the onset of Winter, she had it down pretty well. Come Spring, she soon pushed to have the pedals on and the seat up, and to practice anywhere else.

We went to the next street, which is relatively free of traffic and has a slight decline. With me running frantically beside her, she was able to get up a head of steam and balance for longer periods of time.

And then, two weekends ago, in the school parking lot with her Mom, she got her feet on the pedals, pushed off by herself, and rode about the lot! Yay, Emmi!

And so appear new possibilities in Emmi's ever-expanding horizons.

How many times did she fall?
Many. Very many.
Did we have her wear a helmet, knee pads and gloves? Yes.
Did we kiss her banged body parts? Of course.
Did we cheer her on and acknowledge her successes and frustrations? We did.
Has she been fine-tuning her balance, coordination, visual-motor skills, and bravery all her life? Yes.
Would she have learned to ride despite us? For sure.

It's as if there were a bicyclist inside of her just waiting to emerge.

Just a few other domains of her learning:
Reading and written expression. Social awareness. Organization. Debating. Arithmetic. Emotional awareness. Artistic expression. Debating.

Mastery

There is a wonderful book by the name of Mastery, by George Leonard. It's out in paper. It's small, easy reading, and unexpectedly powerful. I strongly encourage you to read it (*see below).

The main thesis is this:

growth and learning are not happening just when you experience those bursts we identify as "progress."
in contrast to this common understanding, most learning actually occurs while one is on the plateaus between those exciting bursts, during the times when you've fallen off your bike 20 times and can't imagine yourself ever riding like the big kids.

Emmi is an excellent example of mastery... and so are you.

Where do you give up?
In what areas of your life do you assume you aren't learning?
How is it for you to "hang out" on the plateau?
Take a few minutes to recall plateaus in your own life which were followed by bursts of great progress. How can you draw upon this personal knowledge so you may come to savor your time on your current plateaus?

I would like to hear what comes up for you around this.

Take good care -

Steve

* I'm a "go local first" kind of guy, so I encourage you to look for Mastery at your public library or local independent bookstore (find one at booksense.com). You can probably find a used copy through the numerous on-line sources (write me if you'd like a place to start). If ordering on-line is your preference, and like Amazon, I would appreciate you using this link:
Reader Contributions

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I welcome your comments, stories, quotes, reflections, and suggestions for future topics and enhancements. Let me know whether I may post your contribution, and how you wish to be identified as the contributor.

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The Reiter Coaching Letter is published by Steve Reiter on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The purpose is to challenge you and support you in creating success and fulfillment throughout your life.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all content is written and edited by Steve Reiter, MS, PCC. You are welcome to republish any or all parts of this newsletter; I ask only that you honor the copyright by including full acknowledgment, which includes the words "Copyright 2002, Reiter Coaching. All rights reserved." and a listing of my contact information (name, e-mail, web site).