Lessons on Mastery from the Stream
Mastery doesn’t start with talent. It starts with tangled lines and awkward casts.
Fly fishing in Patagonia reminded me what it really takes to learn something deeply.
I recently checked off a bucket list trip: fly fishing in Patagonia, Chile. It was a dream come true.
The scenery was breathtaking. The pools and riffles were alive. And not much rivals the quiet respectful moment releasing a big rainbow trout back into the current to fight another day.
Now, you might be wondering why a peak performance coach is talking about something as seemingly relaxed and meditative as fly fishing.
But this trip was a masterclass in skill acquisition and a reminder of what it really takes to learn something deeply.
Here are two key takeaways:
1. The beginning is messy.
Learning to cast a fly rod properly is awkward, frustrating, and humbling. You try too hard, and it only makes things worse. The line tangles, the rhythm’s off, you overthink it.
But after 1,000+ casts, something shifts.The cast becomes smooth. Automatic. You stop thinking about it and your body just knows.
That’s the magic of repetition and deliberate practice. It is the same process we go through with any skill we’re trying to master. There’s a point where you have to stop mentally gripping so tight and just let it flow.
2. Flow state isn’t a concept. It’s a feeling.
When I’m on the river, I’m not analyzing. I’m not grading each cast as good or bad. I’m just present. My breathing slows, my focus narrows, and all that matters is placing the fly on the water and managing the line.
A missed cast? It’s not a failure. It's feedback. Adjust. Cast again.
This is mindfulness in motion.
Here’s the science:
Our conscious mind, what I lovingly call the pea brain, is where we learn, judge, analyze, and experience most of daily life. But it’s slow.
According to neurologists, the conscious mind processes about 50 bits per second.
Meanwhile, the subconscious mind, where high-speed, high-skill performance actually happens, is capable of processing 50 million bits per second.
That’s a 1,000,000x speed advantage.
It’s why, no matter how intelligent or advanced, even the best computer-driven robots still struggle to walk or jump fluidly. They can’t feel the rhythm but we can, once a skill is embedded into our subconscious.
That’s what true mastery looks like:
The ability to perform without overthinking.