MLK Jr. said "There is deep down within all of us an instinct. It’s a kind of drum major instinct—a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first. And it is something that runs the whole gamut of life."

I was assigned to write what my Drum Major Instinct is in school today, but I didn't really know what mine was. What I comprehended was that it was a human will to master something and to want to be good at something. This has a lot to do with the tools to advance in something. For instance, as I keep playing soccer every chance that I get, I get more one-sided towards something, because i think it will help me play better. I find I’m learning a variety of little techniques (such as how to curve a ball, dribbling, what cleats to wear, etc.) that I didn't even know about or knew it helped when I first started playing.

Sometimes we can get better at something just by having the right tools. I think of how tennis professionals have the "top brand" equipment and even how cooks have all new cooking supplies. I mean do we think if we have such tools, we’ll become experts just by default or maybe we just want to make it look like we are.

Okay now wait. What about the people who really do love to get good at something. I feel as though the willingness and drive to master something is one of the most motivating things for people. I know this is true for me, but I can't quite seem to know what it is I want to get good at. I mean you have to go through a whole mess of things just to figure out how something works, and along with that, is the frustration. As you learn new skills, it seems like automatically you have to be able to operate at more challenging levels. Something as simple as chess could frustrate me!

It's hard sometimes for me to think about what I want to be good at. I want to get serious about something that I would love to do. I would want to practice it consecutively and figure out new techniques. I want to have a motivation to do something in my life, because I know once you master something, it will be the most gratifying feeling ever. Maybe my drum major instinct is to figure out my drive. Who knows?

But what I do know is that the will toward mastery is hard-wired into all of us. So what gets in the way of finding it? I think we resist our stimulation to master something, because it's a long bridge to cross and we will always doubt our ability to become an expert.