Building mastery is an approach we can take to increase our confidence, competence, and meaning in life.

We are rapidly losing skills that humans have developed and relied upon for centuries to technology.

Deep satisfaction, creativity, and joy can come through some degree of frustration and struggle.

This is a guest post by Jesse Homan, a Dialectical Behavior Therapy therapist and trainer. He is passionate about humans and how we all connect with each other, our communities, and the planet.

A few months ago, I hosted (and participated in) an immersive weekend retreat in rural Washington with other therapists. As a way of nurturing ourselves, we cooked meals together, created eco-art, sang, played games, and participated in a guided forest bathing session.

The retreat was co-created by participants, each of us sharing an activity with the group. For my part, I handed out Holga 120mm cameras so that everyone could shoot film for the weekend. (For those unfamiliar with Holgas, they are extremely basic cameras – with a plastic body and lens, two “f-stops,” and one one shutter speed).

In gifting these cameras to everyone, I had one goal in mind – and it certainly was not to take brilliant photos. It was to struggle with learning to use these cameras. Why would I intentionally suggest a project deliberately based on inevitable frustration and disappointment?

Well, my gift was meant to be a meaningful reminder: that just playing around and having fun, even amidst frustration and disappointment, can be a worthwhile journey in and of itself. With commitment and sustained effort, I speculated, they could certainly........

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