Thursday, May 15, 2014

Master Your Tool

Lately,  I've seen more and more people use the saying, if all you have is a hammer, everything is a nail.  Basically, the implication is that if you only know how to do one thing, that is your answer for everything.  I have even used it myself when describing the reasoning for taking other courses and learning other things.  I think it has merit, but for some reason it has started to bug me.

Asking myself why this has started to bug me,  I've come up with the conclusion of mastery.  How many people have even mastered one tool?  I know I haven't.  I feel like I'm getting better.  But, mastery?

If I master the hammer, I'll pound that nail in one blow.  Ever watch a master craftsman pound a nail. It's a thing of beauty.  I will know the difference between a nail and a screw.  "Your not a nail, go try the master of the screwdriver."

Get the drift?

Master your chosen tool.

1 comment:

Steve K. said...

I enjoyed this post, and it got me thinking a bit. Suppose you liken the different training protocols in strength & conditioning to various tools/ gadgets you *could* use in the kitchen: you quickly realize that most folks only really need a small number of tools, most of the time. Maybe a Chef's knife, a paring knife, a vegetable peeler, and cutting board. Once in a while a different tool might be useful or convenient (i.e. grater), but only if you are frequently preparing a certain kind of dish. Otherwise, you can get by just fine with the items mentioned. So... in your opinion, which handful of strength and conditioning protocols/ tools would you chose for your fitness "kitchen"?