RRJ#12

1. The Four Essentials emphasize in a person “what people do, when they do it, how they do it, and whom they do it with. To have more successful people, those people must be able to do their job in their own way. If a worker is expected to work several hours a day then they are surely to exaggerate those number. But if they are motivated by progress then they would be more productive and honest. The Mastery page says that the best indicator of success is their passion and perseverance for their goals. As the author notes “It would be an impoverished existence if you were not willing to vale things and commit yourself to working toward them” (Mastery 123). In Purpose, it points out that money does not make people happy but how they spend it does. It was found that Doctors who spent some of their time on something that was most important to them could reduce the physical and emotional exhaustion that accompanies their work.

2. Like the other chapters of Driver, it is important to tend to the driver and the elephant to keep them moving. Essentially in this chapter, we learn that if workers are allowed to their job in their own way this can appeal to their inner elephant and it also appeals to the driver because they are doing something they are familiar with. This chapter also points out that a worker is not likely to like their job if they are doing something they are not happy with.

What connections can you make about the Elephant and the Driver in this reading?

What do you believe are the positives of having someone do something they like every once and a while?

4. This was fairly easy to read because it was not too wordy and was short to read. The time I had the most difficulty was getting lost on the acronyms of words like ROWE. The way I solved this was having a discussion with a friend and having them point out the connections of what the word ROWE meant; which turned out to be Results Work Only Environment.

5.Grit-noun- Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck.

I chose this word because it is something I believe everyone has experienced at least once. Everyone has endured hardships and difficulty which is basically grit. In the chapter, it acknowledges that soldiers in basic training only past their rigorous tests because they had the grit to complete it. While others who did not have grit failed.

Asymptote-noun- A straight line approached by a given curse as one of the variables in the equation of the curve approaches infinity.

This word was chosen because it is something that comes up very often in mathematics. As a curve approaches the asymptote it goes into infinity but never touches the asymptote. In chapter, it is used to describe a person’s mastery; a person can refine their mastery to achieve higher but they will never be able to achieve complete mastery of something.

Equanimity-noun- Mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or strain.

Equanimity was found in the Mastery is a Pain. Equanimity allows a person to do very sad or depressing jobs while being happy. In a study, it found that avoiding all of the things that made you happy in your job resulted in the test subjects being unmotivated and found signs of depression within them.

Autonomy-noun- Independence or freedom, as of the will or one’s actions.

This word is important because everyone should have some autonomy over their lives or jobs. In the chapter, it was proven that people were more productive when they were given autonomy to do their job in their own way and be told by someone else. Research also showed that those who just sat in jobs for hours were much less productive or enthusiastic about their job.