Self-Mastery, at a deeper level, is the process of understanding our past experience, traumas, emotions, and knowing the root cause of our feelings and behaviors. Aligning ourselves with our ideal life first requires us to come face-to-face with our own self-judgment, self-sabotage, limiting beliefs, and other behavior patterns that are preventing you from a life with fulfilling relationships, happiness and ease. Note that It is not essential to endlessly rehash the past, but rather to gain awareness that you can use going forward. When we lack understanding in these areas, we continue patterns of avoidance, difficult relationships, rejection, or settling for less than what we really want out of our lives.