Mastery, Abundance, and Writing

High Five - Edition #1

Hi there!

Every weekend, I'd be sharing my perspectives on 5 interesting ideas and content pieces I come across that week, spanning topics such as Life, Creativity, Culture, Career, Productivity etc.

Here are the 'High Five' of this week:

Life/Culture: Mastery - What does it take?

A lot has been written about topics such as Focus, Mindfulness etc. Couple of years ago, I came across a different interpretation of the word - Flow, especially after the hugely popular book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Essentially Flow is the mental state of being completely immersed in an activity. And if you marry that with years of practice and attention to detail, what you accomplish is Mastery. This article, taking off with the example of one of the most popular Sushi Masters in Japan, captures what does it take to attain Mastery? The ingredients are not just Flow and practice, but also - Failure.

Work/Career: 5 mistakes that kill our productivity

This piece discusses some of the common pitfalls many of us go through many times during our work-days, especially the knowledge workers. The way we estimate time and tasks has a bearing on our productivity because of the friction points that creep into our systems. This article provides some interesting tips, about how we approach these pitfalls so that we don't lose our rhythm.

A perspective that reframed my thinking:

One of the pieces I read recently had this revelation that we all are so conditioned to have a fixed-pie view of the world. We think there is a limited quantity of everything - space, jobs, quality food, quality experiences, money, fame etc., and hence we try to chase and maximize whatever we can make from them. While in reality, except for time, pretty much everything is abundant in apparent and non-apparent ways. I think it is very true, and if we zoom out a bit and look at the way some people tap success, happiness, opportunities, we might realize that they weren't bogged down by this fixed-pie approach. This reconditioning - around abundance - could be a better way to find our own swim-lane, in everything that we do.

A quote that resonated with me: “Writing is the best form of networking.”

A question I am pondering about: Why does our mind conceive some of the best ideas in uncanny places like… during shower?

— Aakarsh.

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