Self-mastery is the lifelong pursuit of taking complete command of your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self thorough awareness, understanding and control over your thoughts, emotions, and actions.

The fundamentals of self-mastery are … the fundamentals.

I know. “The fundamentals are … the fundamentals.” Hardly a world-beating idea, but that’s the truth of it. And it’s an idea that, if you lean into it, will differentiate you and your performance. Because here’s the mistake that most people make …

They overlook and undervalue the fundamentals.

A differentiating mindset shift

Most people believe the fundamentals are for rookies, juniors and amateurs. Most believe that, given their level of expertise, proficiency and experience, the fundamentals are no longer needed.

More than that, most people believe that, to return to the fundamentals, would be an admittance of incompetence; that focusing on the fundamentals would be a disrespectful contradiction to their current level! But here’s the differentiating mindset shift …

Our mastery COMES FROM a complete command of those fundamental first principles.

And it is NEVER wasted effort to revisit and reincorporate those fundamentals into your life, your relationships, your work, your craft and your projects. Because when we do:

We better navigate the high-pressure moments
We better handle periods of high stress
We accelerate our learning and growth
We upgrade our professional performance.

Fundamentals and first principles are
the CORNERSTONES OF MASTERY.

The 3 domains of self-mastery excellence

When applying the laws of fundamentals and first-principles, there are 3 domains in which to focus your efforts that will give you most bang-for-buck.

#1 The Universal Biological Fundamentals.
Think of any time in your life when you’ve been performing at your best. Notice the high standards and consistent attention on the self-care and energy basics like getting enough sleep, rest and recuperation; eating right and staying well-hydrated; carving-out time to exercise. These are the universal biological fundamentals.

Give yourself a score out of 10 in this domain.
What small change could you make to improve your self-care?

#2 The Universal Performance Fundamentals.
Have you ever found yourself inside a purple patch of sustained productivity, focus and effectiveness … and not felt like you’re doing anything special? Only then, to realise you’ve dialled in your performance habits and rituals to such a degree, they’ve gone unnoticed. Commit to a regular practice of meditation and journal-based reflection; commit to your high-performance morning and evening rituals; schedule deep work blocks; maximise flow states throughout your day. To improve your memory, motivation, cognition, learning and ability to focus. These are the universal performance fundamentals.

Give yourself a score out of 10 in this domain.
What addition could you make to your performance rituals?
What could you REMOVE to create more space for thought?

#3 Your Personal Non-Negotiable Fundamentals.
In addition to the universal fundamentals, there are thoughts, behaviours, systems and rituals that are uniquely your personal recipe for being at the top of your game. The finer details of your morning routine; the way you personally like to achieve goal clarity, specificity and connection; secrets for maintaining high energy levels; rules you follow to guarantee success. As you reflect on your personal non-negotiables, think of the fundamentals behind (1) your core success ingredients for your role (2) the secret sauce that stands you out (3) that which minimises the occurrence and impact of your “kryptonite,” and (4) an elevated self-concept. These are your personal, non-negotiable fundamentals.

Create a list of your personal non-negotiables.
What small change would guarantee their employment?
What could you do to strengthen your practice?

Commit to dialling-in the fundamentals in all 3 domains to improve your performance …
… meaning the energy, clarity, confidence and focus you bring to your day.

The practice of self-mastery

Leaning into the fundamentals of self-mastery is a PRACTICE. Something that is developed and enhanced with regular and purposeful repetition. The magic ingredient – as with any practice – is CONSISTENCY.

Just as any area of life and work in which you’re successful is characterised by a complete command of the first principles, those areas are also characterised by great consistency.

Health and fitness. Skill development. Project progress. Developing competency and confidence. Deepening a relationship. Building a client list. Creating a close-knit team. Consistent time and attention is key.

Fundamentals and first principles are the CORNERSTONES of mastery. And the consistent practice of those fundamentals is the FOUNDATION of success.

Take some time today to plan how you’ll make these consistent practices a frictionless component of your (high performance) life.

And make the commitment to cultivate the habit of continually running a “fundamentals healthcheck” so that, unlike the rest of the world, you neither overlook nor undervalue the importance of these building blocks to a successful life.

Thanks for reading!

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