Mastery

If this is your first visit to the A Pot of Stew, this post is part two of a look at Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose-- I haven't read his book yet, but according to several internet videos featuring Dan Pink, these three motivators drive innovation in the 21st century.

Of course I can't just leave it at that, I've got to connect it to my faith somehow.  My last post was about Autonomy, so now it's on to Mastery.

Jesus says in John 10:10 that he came so that we may have LIFE, and depending on the translation that we may have abundant life or life to the fullest.  We will have Mastery of our lives.  This can lead us to dangerous ground, and I am not a proponent of "prosperity theology," so what does it mean to master our lives to get the most out of them.

For most of my life I've appreciated analogies that compare life to sailing or surfing.  Sometimes the right opportunities come our way and we position ourselves to take advantage of them.  Sometimes the situation is tough and we find a way to make the most of it.  But still, sometimes we realize we are at the mercy of the winds and tides so we hunker down and simply get through it.  This I believe is the full life.  Learning to appreciate the ups and downs, the thrills and spills and taking control where we can but recognizing that the ultimate control is not in our hands.

Mastery is different than manipulation and some people try to manipulate life.  They have the illusion that it is completely under their control and this false assumption is bound to destroy their sense of mastery.  Mastery is different than control.  Every system that is under "control" is a potential disaster when things go wrong.  Mastery is different than authority.  Too often authority is based on a precarious balance of power and submission.

My best understanding of mastery in life could be expressed in the prayer of St. Francis:

"Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and
the wisdom to know the difference." 

Autonomy

It's been over a week since I promised a little insight on the Dan Pink video that I posted. I thought I would give a little time to folks to watch it and come up with your own thoughts. (Do you really believe that?)

I narrowed in on Pink's view that traditional theories of motivation-- carrot and stick-- aren't as strong as we'd think. To really motivate people to complex and innovative tasks requires autonomy, mastery, and purpose. This works well when we work for people who give us this triad, but I think we can all find these elements in our lives.

Autonomy is the freedom to direct your own actions, to control your own destiny. Most of us think we are in short supply of this. When I think of autonomy, I get a picture of Jesus, sitting in front of Pilate:

 ² “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
   “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
 ³ The chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
 ⁵ But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.   (Mark 15)

Jesus sat on trial in front of the governor of Judea.  Pilate didn't seem too interested in this "Jesus" case and I think he was just looking for a reason to dismiss it.  Jesus found himself in a position in which most of us would be compelled to provide a defense, and then reframe it when it didn't work.  This is true autonomy, to recognize that nothing of this world demands a response in the face of God's kingdom.

When I think of autonomy, I think of the Apostle Paul writing from jail urging people to bear patiently with one another, addressing his audience with Grace and Peace.  He writes some of the most encouraging words of hopes while suffering unto death in chains.  That is autonomy, the ability to live the freedom of the Kingdom even in the face of imprisonment in this world.

The ways of the world take our autonomy away-- we are bound to acquire more, driven to the next best thing, forced into retaliation, backed into deception, oppressed into misery, and pushed into anger.  We only have one ultimate source of accountability and that is to our God.  Jesus promised abundant life, and this is how we take it, by claiming the autonomy and freedom in this world that comes from giving it away for the sake of the next.
 

Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose

I haven't posted in a while, and just embedding a video seems a little like cheating, but this one is changing the way I think about life just a bit.  Among other things, what would otherwise just be another lecture becomes quite engaging with the animation.  I've used this video in a leadership class that I teach and I've been thinking about how the lesson intersects with my own life.  It is around ten minutes long, but worth the watch.  I'll give you my thoughts under the video.



My take-away from this is that traditional ideas on "carrot and stick" motivation is a bit over-rated. The trio of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose motivates us to excellence. Believe it or not, I think this applies to our faith as well. I plan to think about this some over the next few days and offer some thoughts about how these understandings reflect what we may already know about our faith.