Micromastery: 39 Little Skills to Help You Find Happiness

Learning a micromastery doesn’t commit you in that deadening way that buying a beginner’s textbook does. By its limited nature, it gives you permission to remain interested in the world. It doesn’t mean you have to commit to doing that thing for what feels like for ever, and at the same time it spares you any worries that you’ve wasted your time.

We read that we must be passionate about only one thing, that 10,000 hours of hard practice is needed to achieve mastery. But in fact most successful people, including Nobel Prize winners, nurture multiple areas of knowledge and activity that feed their central subject.

Whether it's making a perfect souffle, dancing a tango or lighting a fire, when we take the time to cultivate small and quantifiable areas of expertise, we change everything. We become faster and more fearless learners, spot more creative opportunities, improve our brain health and boost our happiness. We see knowledge itself completely differently. The skills acquired in painting a door flawlessly or growing delicious chillies will unexpectedly transform your life.

So start small. Start specific. But start - and you'll be on the path to mastery.

'Micromastery is a triumph. A brilliant idea, utterly convincing, and superbly carried through' - Philip Pullman