Category: “Personal Productivity”

Recently I wrote a post about one of the main factors that motivates people to get things done: the pursuit of mastery. Or, what is the same, trying to get the greatest possible knowledge about what we really like to do (it’s hard to keep the necessary motivation to improve on something we do not like, even if it’s what feeds us).

Minimalism was an art movement that peaked in the early 1960s. By eliminating all the dispensable features and forms from the objects in works of art, it was intended to highlight their “true” essence. In short, it was a style that sought maximum effect through a minimal number of elements.

The pursuit of mastery—the constant desire to get better and better at something that matters to you—is one of the three forms of behavior that drives people to their highest productivity level. The other two are autonomy and purpose.

Fear is an interesting thing that I’ve written about from time to time. In this post I’d like to explore the ways that fear can be a source of energy and motivation if you can learn how to turn it into something positive. In fact, if you learn to recognize your fears and use them to your favor, they may help you achieve your goals.

Surely you are aware that there are times in your life when you have thoughts like, “What can I do to be more competitive or productive?” “How can I improve my skills and advance my career?” “Should I move to this or that city?” This kind of big-picture thinking is called divergent, and is the one you use to generate ideas when you face a problem.