Recently, I was listening to the Don’t Keep Your Day Job podcast where Cathy Heller was interviewing Martha Beck (talk about girl crushes!) The whole conversation was so inspiring, but one thing that really caught my attention was when they talked about “the rage to master”.
This concept ties so beautifully into all of the ideas I teach my clients about discovering your zone of genius and living out your purpose. Now that I have a better understanding of what it is, I believe “the rage to master” is a key ingredient in pursuing a fulfilling career path.
What is the rage to master?
Having the rage to master something means being so fully dedicated to excel that you keep persevering despite challenges and frustrations.
It’s a baby who is desperately trying to learn how to walk. They keep falling flat on their face but each time they get back up and try again. They will not be stopped.
But the rage to master is not the same as simply working really hard and striving for achievements. It has a different energy. The difference may seem subtle, but it’s hugely important and I want to try to explain it the best way that I can.
Having a rage to master demands being very close to what you want. And when I say “what you want”, I really mean- what your highest self wants. It’s something you can only tap into when you are on the path of your true self. When you are pursuing one of the deepest desires of your heart.
Meaning that this form of determination is NOT available to you when you are chasing superficial, empty desires. If you are chasing after a goal, only to live up to other people’s expectations or prop up your ego, you won’t be able to access the rage master.
In her book Rich as F*ck, Amanda Frances talks about this concept as well. She says “Inside of what you really want there is the motivation to do whatever it takes.”
When we are connected to our purpose and our deepest why we can find a fire within us that makes us unstoppable. When we feel this rage to master we can be assured that we are on our right path.
How do you know you have the rage to master?
One way you can tell that you’ve tapped into this rage to master, is by how you respond to challenges. Is it love or fear based? Is it internally or externally motivated? Is it process or strictly goal oriented?
The rage to master medicine?
When I was on my night shift rotation my intern year of OBGYN residency, I struggled. I’ve always been someone who excels at tests and academics, but all of the hands on, procedural skills I had to learn to be an OBGYN were so hard for me!
I was not confident in the OR and would constantly second guess my incisions, suturing technique and ability to tie secure knots. I fumbled with deliveries more often than I’d like to admit, and overall just felt like a hot mess.
I got some pretty difficult feedback from my program director about my performance on the rotation. It was hard to hear. As an overachieving medical student, I was used to a high degree of perfection and praise. This felt like an epic failure and honestly I wanted to call it quits right then.
But I didn’t quit. I accepted the remediation activities and began to work hard to improve my performance.
I met with my attendings after every single C-section to go over detailed feedback on how I could improve. I took notes and earnestly incorporated their feedback for the next operation. I watched youtube videos and practiced suturing and knot tying around the clock. I asked my upper level residents for help and mentorship. =
Gradually, my efforts started to pay off. I was getting better and feeling more confident in the OR. I was taking charge in the delivery room, guiding my patients seamlessly through the labor process. I needed less and less hands on supervision and could tell that my attendings were starting to trust me more.
8 months later, after my next night shift rotation, I met with my attendings and received incredible feedback. They were so impressed with the work I put in and how much I had grown and developed my skills. My program director received emails from fellows talking about how I excelled and really stepped up during a particularly hectic shift.
It seemed that all my efforts had paid off.
This is NOT the rage to master
On the surface, this might seem like the “rage to master”. I was working hard and doing whatever it took to overcome an obstacle in my path.
But here is why it’s NOT the rage to master.
I did all of these things purely because it was expected of me by my residency program. The reason I asked each attending for feedback was because I had to. It was a direct assignment from my program director and I didn’t want to get in trouble or get kicked out of the program.
The reason I practiced my suturing so diligently was because I didn’t want to embarrass myself or cause harm to my patients. I didn’t actually enjoy the process, in fact I dreaded most of it. All of these efforts to improve were motivated by fear and external expectations.
On top of that, when I finally reached a level of mastery, I didn’t care. Hearing the praise and positive feedback felt strangely empty.
I didn’t have a true “rage to master” because, deep down I didn’t really want to be a doctor. And this is when it all started to click for me.
I knew all along that becoming a doctor would be hard work. I put in plenty of long hours and sleepless nights during medical school. I don’t mind working hard. But after this whole experience, I realized- this wasn’t the hard work that I wanted to do.
I didn’t have that internal drive to put in the work to become the best doctor I could be. I didn’t care deeply enough to spend time learning all of the evidence based protocols. I didn’t feel compelled to “read the literature” in my spare time.
My well of motivation was coming up dry. When I asked myself “why am I putting myself through all of this?” I couldn’t come up with a deeper motivation or reason why.
I didn’t have the rage to master.
This may seem like I’m just lazy or severely burnt out, but I don’t think that’s what it was.
I think it’s because I wasn’t on the path of my true self. I was pursuing some superficial desires and ignoring what I truly wanted.
You must connect to what you really want
Now, in my coaching business, I’ve finally tapped into my rage to master. When I’ve had challenges in my business, like a failed launch or a series of NOs on sales calls, I notice there is a different energy with how I respond. Sure, I have my initial moments of defeat and feeling like a failure. I entertain the idea of giving it all up and just going to get a regular job.
But then, a fire ignites within me. I connect back to why I’m doing this. My mission. My message. My purpose. My vision. And I feel a renewed sense of energy to figure this out. I feel a determination to do whatever it takes to make my dreams a reality. I develop a plan to learn from my mistakes, to improve my messaging and strategy. I dedicate myself to learning everything I can about marketing and sales psychology and online businesses.
And although I know this is “the struggle”, I love every minute of it. I’m excited and invigorated by the process. My actions are fueled from this place deep within me, from a desire to get my message and work out into the world.
This is the rage to master.
It’s internally motivated, process focused and driven by joy.
It’s something you can only find when you are on the path of your true self.
It’s what I was missing when I was working in medicine, and I believe I’ve tapped into it now that I’m living in alignment with my purpose and my highest self.
So I’d love to know, do you have the rage to master? How do you currently respond to the challenges and obstacles in your career? Do they inspire you and motivate you or make you want to quit? Comment below and share your experiences!
