It is developed over time, through steady, diligent, and persistent practice. When you focus on practice, and not performance, you begin to understand more. Mistakes become learning experiences and practice feels like progress rather than drudgery. So how does this happen? You value being present in what you’re doing. You pay attention and are mindful of each step, each decision, each act.
You focus on what you’re doing, right now, in this moment. This creates flow, connection, and continuity between each act. You focus on each step building on the next. Progress might seem slow, but the foundation is stronger and more solid. This works for anything creative and skill-based because the way you learn is by doing, not by hurrying. Practice involves engagement and awareness.
The more you practice, the more you notice patterns. You see what is working and what isn’t. You start to see what needs to change. This develops confidence because you can feel like you’re getting better. You can see it and you feel it. You aren’t comparing yourself to others; you are only comparing yourself to yourself. Over time, this becomes automatic. It becomes something you know in your body and your nervous system, rather than your intellect. This automaticity leads to consistency. The other key to this is patience.
If you allow yourself time to learn, you won’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll be curious and playful. If you expect yourself to pick something up quickly, you won’t. You’ll push and struggle and force. When you have time to learn something, you can simply enjoy the process of mastering it. This shifts the expectation from mastery now, to mastery eventually. This subtle difference makes a huge difference in your motivation. You no longer need to prove you can do it. You can simply learn to do it. So what is the net effect? When you approach skill as a craft, you begin to notice progress over time. You see progress in your daily life and in your daily actions. You no longer need a huge success or achievement. This feels better and supports persistence, mastery, and fulfillment. This is what you want.