Begin with the attitude of expecting mastery.

Begin with the attitude(ˈadəˌt(y)o͞od) of expecting(ikˈspekt) mastery(ˈmast(ə)rē).

By Steve Pavlina

Whenever you attempt to learn something new, go into it with the expectation(ˌekspekˈtāSHən) that you’re eventually(əˈven(t)SH(o͞o)əlē) going to master it, however long that will take. Expect to become an expert. Think of yourself as a top pro(prō) in training.

If you’re learning to play golf(gälf,gôlf), think of yourself as a future professional(prəˈfeSHənl) golfer. If you’re learning leadership skills, see yourself as a future world leader. If you’re learning martial(ˈmärSHəl) arts, imagine you’re the next Bruce Lee. It doesn’t matter if you ever actually achieve mastery. That’s not the point. The point is that focusing(ˈfōkəs) on the goal of ultimate(ˈəltəmit) mastery will sharpen(ˈSHärpən) your present focus. If you imagine that someday you’re going to be leading your country, you’re going to pay a lot more attention to learning how to lead and manage(ˈmanij) people on small projects.

When I started to learn public speaking, I began with the expectation that I’d eventually be one of the top speakers in the world, even if it would take me decades to get there. This gave me a context(ˈkänˌtekst) for working really hard on the basics(ˈbāsik) over the past year because a top pro must be able to handle the basics nearly flawlessly(ˈflôləslē).

Another way to apply(əˈplī) this idea is to imagine that you’ll eventually have to teach whatever you learn to someone else. If that works better for you, great — use it.

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/03/master-the-basics/