Knowing How to Draw a Rectangle Is Easy—Knowing When Is the Challenge

A few years ago, I thought mastery was all about learning skills—practicing techniques, following tutorials, and perfecting execution. But when I faced a challenge where my usual methods didn’t work, I realized knowing how to do something wasn’t enough. True expertise comes from understanding when and why to use a skill.

This applies to every field. A designer who knows software tools but lacks design intuition, a programmer who memorizes code but doesn’t know when to use a specific algorithm—they all fall short. To go beyond just executing tasks, you need to ask why and when, experiment in different situations, learn from experts’ decisions, and seek feedback.

Right now, I’m experiencing this firsthand with Game Development. I know how to use Unreal Engine and Godot, but I don’t yet feel confident applying that knowledge to real problems. And that’s okay—because mastery isn’t just about collecting skills. It’s about learning, applying, and truly understanding their purpose. Wrote in details here..