“The essence of personal mastery is learning how to generate and sustain creative tension in our lives.” — Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline

Personal mastery is the practice of increasing our awareness, reducing our blind spots, and developing our responsiveness. Creative tension can be defined as the gap between where we are now and what we want. This creative tension might exist in many aspects of our lives — our relationships, our work, particular projects and aspirations, or creative endeavors such as writing, art, or something physical. Or it might be in answering the questions, “What is my calling?” and “Why am I here on this planet?”

Creative tension requires two important practices.

New books offer guidance for the creative life — from facing your fears to planning your play

Artistic challenges come in many forms, but in Mastering Creative Anxiety, bestselling author Eric Maisel says the common thread behind them all is creative anxiety. And Jennifer Lee’s The Right-Brain Business Plan helps creative types beat the odds by providing a fun, accessible, and out-of-the-box approach to business planning.