Hey all! So basically, I’ve thought about the sort of article that I will be writing today. For the purpose of self-mastery, I will be writing down different skills that I have learnt at different points in time and then distil how I relate to these skills, what they bring to my table yep.
Another self-knowledge exercise/experiment! Still, I’m kind of going in totally blind here. I only project that I will be able to sort everything into different categories at the end of the article. Unfortunately, I will again be shamelessly using myself as an example here… so if you can tolerate it and perhaps even wish to use this as a reference for your own self-mastery work, please, read on!
All right, let’s get started!
Now on to the things I’ve learnt in the past and how they relate to me!
Alright, got one. So, first of all, martial arts.
In my childhood, I very very briefly dabbled in Taekwondo. I also did some Muay Thai possibly once out of NS, joined karate for a bit when enrolled in university, and kinda mastered the first level of Wing Chun two years back.
So, what do I feel about martial arts?
Well, basically looking back at it, I can say that I was not so interested in it after all.
Well, a skill that I can say I gain quite a bit of enjoyment from, which I’ve mentioned in a recent post, is that of play games and reacting to incoming stimulus, such as Beat Saber and all that. Yep, that I say confidently does perk me up.
But for martial arts, it’s not like that at all!
One most prominent aspect is that I was simply not interested in learning the katas or forms that you gotta learn and display to advance!!! in grades. I just found it super boring tbh.
Now, what I think I really, really wanted from martial arts was actually the sparring aspect when I got to fight with other people. (Yet I never actually reached such a stage because you’re supposed to learn and solidify foundations first!)
So in a sense, what I wanted from martial arts is similar to what I gain from playing VR games, basically. The thrill of a back-and-forth so to speak!
And this I actually NEVER got from learning martial arts because I was never committed enough to actually reach that level!! For the last one, I more or less stuck to it because I had committed to it plus I wanted to make friends too. I actually never gained a pure unadulterated joy.
See. That wasn’t too hard was it? Next!
Now, let me quickly pull back on some things from childhood.
I can quickly whip up a category of stuff that you are basically not interested in at all, because I think my parents might have sent me for like art class at some point in time.
Then there’s also a category of things that you’re technically interested in but you have not matured into yet, like that drama class I attended. I suppose that this doesn’t actually warrant a whole new category yet still.
Now, let me briefly mention something that came to mind. See, I think I’ll clear all the miscellaneous stuff first before going into the real meat of this exercise. So, alright.
Now, I actually took a good several lifesaving courses before, like Lifesaving 123, Bronze Medallion and Award of Merit. So I wanna ask me: Why did I take these courses?
Well, my answer is basically that it just happened. So my parent’s friend’s child or children were taking the course, and probably that got my parents to ask hey, why don’t you join too? and so I did it and I got all those certificates.
Now, what can I conclude from this particular skill?
Well, I can basically define a whole category of things with it already. Basically, it’s the category of things that yes, you can do, but you don’t actually derive much of a sense of meaning out of. You just do it, cause yeah, you can, but ultimately, it doesn’t really fulfil you all that much.
So, if you ask me, I can already think of one thing that I really super super gravitate towards placing in this category, and that would be playing the piano. See, yeah, I’ve also learnt the piano before. I actually… failed the diploma exam by a few marks, so I’m only a grade 8 but, if you ask me, tbh, I’d say I don’t really feel like I would have deserved that diploma either because I don’t identify as a piano person. Ha.
Anyway, this is something that yeah, I can sorta do. With enough practice, I should be able to play most songs provided that they are not too hard.
But see, this is where there is an important distinction! Motivation! My firm conviction, you see, is that if something truly resonates with you enough, you’ll always! just find yourself going back to it no matter what…
Like, for example, me writing this blog.
Okay, first of all, I define writing as an essential skill in communication that I have a plenty decent grasp of and I can kinda lose myself in. So whenever I find the insight to write a blog article here that helps a ahem… self-proclaimed philosopher part of me, I just do it! And that part of me is innate, it just naturally stems out of me without me having to do anything at all!!!
Meanwhile, for piano. Well, it isn’t exactly something that I can really lose myself in if I were to give my true honest opinion. And I never actually find in myself a pull/desire to go do it right now! So the conclusion I arrive at is: definitely, it falls into a different category for me.
And what category would that be? Well, precisely the one I christened above, where you can actually somewhat do it but you don’t really see yourself finding all that much meaning and fulfilment in.
And this is me right now wondering if I’m sharing too much about myself. Huh. Oh well.
But anyway, that’s enough for this category. All other skills related to said category, I don’t find the need to write about in this article anymore okay! (I don’t want to be too transparent and bare everything about me 🙁 )
Yayy! Now I’m safe!!! Whew!
Now, moving on…
A skill which I probably should mention is songwriting.
See, this year I kinda went and became a singer-songwriter for fun. And I write songs every now and then, such as this Enneagram song project that is almost completed. I actually wrote the second last song, Ode to 6… linked it!… today!
Right, let me quickly mention the categories I’ve theorised first before we progress.
Category Being: Stuff that is so you, you seriously just can’t help but do
Category Ability: Stuff that is technically part of your skillset, yes, but no more than that
Oh, right, just thought of a third one, from like, the VR and duelling, you know.
Category Yeahh!: Stuff that just brings you a spike of dopamine, consistently.
So that’s three. Now, what about this particular skill now that we’ve just arrived at?
Well, let me separate it into singing and songwriting…
For songwriting, I’d say that what I derive from it is simply nothing else but creativity. A flash of inspiration, a burst of creativity… ah! Bliss! Or something like that!
And in my personal humble opinion being creative is a very! good skill. At the very least, I really enjoy drawing from my creativity every now and then! And basically, this songwriting seems to have become my medium for it! And I’m pretty satisfied with it in that regard!
So, alright. This kinda fits into the third category, but in my honest opinion I feel it deserves a category of its own. And so…
Category create!: Stuff that gives your creative muscle a good workout
And this is something that basically, everyone can do in their own way through their own preferred medium of art, be it like drawing, singing, dancing, acting, cosplay or whatever yeah!!!
Right, now for singing itself. What does it do for me?
Hmm… I guess that I would be sufficiently satisfied with placing this under category 3.
Alright, that’s that!
Now, moving on…
No, this overlaps, no that too, nope, not gonna talk about anything falling under that category anymore…
Hmm, let me see…
Right, I just thought of one thing that I MUST mention.
See, some things are more like bucket list things. You do it once in your life and that’s enough. You don’t ever feel like you have to do it again! Ah! You’ve relished the novelty of that experience, but now you’ve figuratively moved on from it because you don’t really feel a pull to have to go experience that again! A classic example might be like uh… bungee jumping!!!
Sure, I suppose this might fall under the third category for some people and they find themselves pulled to go do it over and over again, but still.
Now, some things that fall under this category for me would be, like, uh. Well, last year I went scuba diving at an aquarium in Sentosa and I truly did enjoy it, but to be honest, I feel like it’s fine if I’ve done it once! Got no need to do it again!!!
See, how helpful this categorisation is for self-knowledge, ha!
Now, just wanna mention that I’m not all that certain if we can tell prior that an activity might fall under category 3 or 5, as in, whether you can consistently rely on it for joy and fulfilment or whether it’s more of an only one time is good enough!
Oh right, let’s name it.
Category Bucket: Where yeah, you enjoy it, but just doing it once! is good enough
Alright, cool. So now we got 5 categories, and I think it’s pretty nice! Gonna contemplate to see if there are any more missing puzzle pieces…
Hmm…
By the way, I just wanna say people are interested in different things to different degrees! Like, for instance, some people are more generalists whereas others are more specialists. The former branch out, whereas that latter group goes in very deep.
So, even if something falls under category 3 and brings you consistent dopamine, you don’t!! actually have to be super into it and super all out about it!! A good example of this is how while I can reach Expert+ on Beast Saber quite okay, I’m just not the kind to aim for the leaderboard! I’ll just oh so kindly leave that to those for whom the desire is present within them!
Remember that, yeah! Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean that you have to invest, pour yourself whole-heartedly into it! Hey, perhaps that something could even fall under category 2 for someone like you, where technically, it is part of your skillset, but realistically, it doesn’t fulfil you. What I would say is no, friend! Be nothing dictating that you have to seriously work hard on that!
Go live your passion (s)!
Every individual is plain unique, with their own canvas, that is the responsibility of they themselves!! to let bloom! Remember that yeah!
Alright, back to thinking up categories… Now is there anything that I let slip between the cracks…
Hmm, I suppose there is one.
Category temper: Nascent skills that you wish to further refine and level up in
Oftentimes, you know that and believe that you have some ability in this sphere. However, you have yet to actually manifest that. You still need some mentoring, experience, etc etc before said skill can fully shine.
Now, the defining characteristic!! of this category is that you are committed! to advancing your mastery of this skill. It ain’t just something you are so plain casual about… Now I’d said this specifically!!! goes to show a skill you are currently working on. Potentially, it could later be removed and fall under another category instead!
Hmm… come to think of it, you could even say that these skills fall under a spectrum.
Yup, right. Think I’ve gathered enough material! to go for the final wrap-up aka conclusion already.
So, let me list the categories in the order which I feel is best okay.
Category being-identity: Skills that already come to define who you are
Category pleasure-hobby: Skills that you consistently revisit for fun
Category excavate-refine: Skills that you wish to develop more
Category ability-clinical: Skills that you only draw on when necessary
Category creation-workout: Skills that are like working a muscle
Category bucket-standalone: Skills that are but mere certs
Now, just a few extra things to mention. So let me expand on the fifth category a bit. It seems that it does not just encompass creativity, but also physical workouts like exercise! Or mental exercises like playing chess to exercise your brain or something! So, what you gain from it… isn’t exactly so much pleasure and dopamine as in the second category, but you find it a good workout that you can see yourself revisiting!
Oh, and the frequency at which you engage in it isn’t as high as, say, the first two categories! I would liken it to like, maybe, going bowling. You are fine just going to do it like… maybe once every month or so? Only that alone is enough for you already as otherwise, you simply don’t!! feel any real pull to go take the initiative to engage in the activity.
So if it’s something that’s more of a daily routine of yours, I’d say that you can put it under category 1 already and identify it, because it’s simply part of who you are. It is just so thoroughly integrated.
As for the sixth category, the item need not even be on your bucket list! For instance, when I was staying in a dormitory at Misasagi while on exchange at Kyoto University, I regularly played table tennis with dormmates. However, to be fully honest, I rather prefer stuff like actual tennis, badminton, even pickleball. So I sort of have a degree of skill at table tennis perhaps, but…
The sixth category holds the skills that are more for leisure only and you see yourself not having any real desire to go revisit at all… They just lie stagnant in your figurative arsenal. An example would be the samurai sword-wielding that I did on my first visit to Japan, hah. Surely that connotates some degree of skill, I would say!!! Anyway…
For example, say I have a desire to try horse-riding!! So after I try it out, this would either fall into category 2 of revisit that or category 6 of been there, done that. And I’m still not too sure about which it would fall into because that’s just the way things are.
Or maybe, category 6. Like, say you have a driver’s license yet never actually drive? So, it’s more of the ones that lie there unused see.
Meanwhile, category 4 is more for the skills that might pop up as useful in actual life or work situations. Thus, they are just in your arsenal to be used if you ever have the chance to draw on ’em.
For instance, people skills is essential! However they aren’t really a skill which people have to train, unless, of course, you are like a former mentor of mine at this door-to-door salesman job… He would conscientiously banter with everyone he met to try to build rapport, yeah, and try to enjoy them regardless of outcome!, regardless of a sale’s completion. Yeah! Somewhat admirable I feel!
But, oftentimes, unless the role we’re playing expressly contains this job process, people skills are more of like a soft skill that it’s nice to have yeah.
Well, for me, another skill that I guess I could rope under the said category would be like… you know, presentations and stuff. Back in the day, I was kinda well-known! for my presentations to a degree back in university! And so there it’ll stay in my locker for if it’s ever needed.
Oh, and one more thing that just popped into my head. Perhaps some skills can potentially be downgraded from category two into category six. Like, for example, if you constantly play a sport as a hobby… But then you grow too old for it and you wean it off, and it becomes only! the stuff of memories… in a sense, it’s something in your life that you have ticked off your list!!!
Heheh.
Alright, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of this experiment-slash exercise! Maybe people can gain a few insights of this here and somewhere, who knows! But if you’ve read to this point, thanks for reading! I’d say that I can probably be satisfied with this, and so happily wrap it up here. Yosh!
With that, it’s the end of my article. Bye! Have a nice day!
Daimon out.
PS: Well, what do you know! I came back and had new insights and added more to the article’s conclusion! Hah!