Never make your life to consist in one thing and yet seek progress in another. – Epictetus, Discourses, Of Progress
… if you want to be thought good at anything, you must try to be so; that is the quickest, the surest, the best way. You will find on reflection that every kind of virtue named among men is increased by study and practice. – Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book II
The phrase “brilliant at the basics” is one often used in the military, and for good reason. Even routine military operations are complex and inherently dangerous, and those conducted against a real enemy (as opposed to a simulated adversary) are exponentially more so. The difference between success and failure often depends on each individual, crew, and unit performing its fundamental function to near-perfection. Brilliance at the basics is what differentiates the average from the elite.
While that is true to an extent, it is not the whole story. Advanced tactics and maneuvers are what set apart elite units like Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 from the average infantry unit. But those advanced tactics and maneuvers are only possible because the members of those units have fine-tuned their proficiency at the fundamentals (physical fitness, technical competence, judgment, etc.) to near-perfection. A firearm in the hands of an elite operator works just the same as it does in the hands of a basic training recruit. The difference is that the elite operator has spent years fine-tuning his skill at the fundamentals of marksmanship.
We see brilliance at the basics on full display every two years during the summer and winter Olympics. A good example is that of running, which is a foundational human skill achieved in the earliest years of life. But Olympic runners have fine-tuned their bodies and technique to such a degree as to make such a basic movement seem nearly superhuman.
This dynamic is not confined to physical and martial activities; it is also true of living meaningful lives as moral beings. A virtuous life is a good life, and the fundamentals of such a life can be practiced and cultivated. The virtue of pietas forms the core of such practices, and reality itself seems to be arranged specifically to provide vast and ample opportunity to do so. We are rarely without occasion to advance the execution of our moral duties, and contented resignation to Providence may be exercised wherever there is conscious thought.
Near-perfection is a tall order in any area of life, including the cultivation of pietas. But, just as with the operator and the runner, mastery is the product of small improvements and incremental progress over the span of many years. Failure is not final if its lessons are learned and applied. Treat every hardship as a weight that strengthens, not a burden that breaks. The day ahead is the training ground, the conscience is the muscle, duty and contentment are the fundamentals to be mastered, and the reward is a life worth living.