Crucialidade: The Art of Focusing on What Matters Most

9 min readOct 13, 2023

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of information, choices, and distractions in your life? Have you ever wondered what really matters to you and how to focus on it? If so, you might benefit from learning about a concept called crucialidade.

Crucialidade is a Portuguese word that means “criticality” or “the quality of being essential”. It is a philosophy that encourages us to be highly critical of everything we do and to identify and prioritize the most important aspects of our lives. By practicing crucialidade, we can live more intentionally, purposefully, and happily.

What is Crucialidade and Why is it Important?

The Definition and Origin of Crucialidade

Crucialidade is a term that was coined by Brazilian philosopher Olavo de Carvalho. He defined it as “the art of discerning what is essential from what is accidental”. According to him, crucialidade is not just a skill, but a way of life that requires constant vigilance and self-awareness.

Crucialidade is based on the idea that everything in our lives has a degree of importance or relevance, but not everything is equally important or relevant. Some things are essential, meaning they are necessary for our survival, happiness, or fulfillment. Other things are accidental, meaning they are not necessary, but may be useful, enjoyable, or harmless. And some things are detrimental, meaning they are harmful, wasteful, or distracting.

Crucialidade helps us to distinguish between these categories and to focus our attention, time, and energy on the essential things. It also helps us to avoid or eliminate the detrimental things, and to use or enjoy the accidental things wisely.

The Benefits of Practicing Crucialidade

Practicing crucialidade can bring many benefits to our lives. Some of them are:

Clarity: By identifying what is essential to us, we can gain a clear vision of our goals, values, and purpose in life. We can also avoid confusion, doubt, and indecision.
Simplicity: By eliminating what is detrimental or unnecessary to us, we can simplify our lives and reduce stress, clutter, and waste. We can also free up more space, time, and resources for what matters most.
Effectiveness: By prioritizing what is essential to us, we can increase our productivity, performance, and quality. We can also achieve more with less effort, time, and resources.
Fulfillment: By pursuing what is essential to us, we can experience more satisfaction, happiness, and meaning in our lives. We can also contribute more value to ourselves and others.

The Challenges of Embracing Crucialidade

Embracing crucialidade is not always easy. It requires courage, discipline, and commitment. Some of the challenges that we may face are:

Resistance: We may encounter resistance from ourselves or others when we try to change our habits, routines, or lifestyles. We may also face criticism, rejection, or opposition from those who do not share our vision or values.
Temptation: We may be tempted by the allure of the accidental or detrimental things that promise instant gratification, pleasure, or comfort. We may also be distracted by the noise, information, or entertainment that surrounds us.
Uncertainty: We may not always know what is essential or how to achieve it. We may also face unexpected changes, challenges, or opportunities that require us to adapt or rethink our choices.

How to Apply Crucialidade in Different Aspects of Life

Crucialidade can be applied in any aspect of our lives, such as business, education, personal development, and well-being. Here are some examples of how to do so:

Crucialidade in Business and Career

In the business world, It can help us to achieve success and excellence. Some of the ways to apply it in business and career are:

Identifying and Pursuing Your Core Purpose

Your core purpose is the reason why you do what you do. It is the ultimate goal that drives your actions and decisions. It is also the source of your passion and motivation.

To identify your core purpose, you can ask yourself questions such as:

What is the problem that I want to solve or the value that I want to create?
What is the impact that I want to have on myself, others, or the world?
What is the legacy that I want to leave behind?

To pursue your core purpose, you can align your vision, mission, and values with it. You can also communicate it clearly and consistently to yourself and others. You can also measure your progress and results against it.

Making Smart and Strategic Decisions

Decisions are the actions that we take to achieve our goals. They are also the factors that determine our outcomes and consequences. Therefore, making smart and strategic decisions is crucial for success.

To make smart and strategic decisions, you can use frameworks such as:

The Pareto Principle: This principle states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes. It helps us to identify and focus on the most important or influential factors in any situation.
The Eisenhower Matrix: This matrix helps us to prioritize our tasks based on their urgency and importance. It helps us to decide what to do first, what to do later, what to delegate, and what to eliminate.
The SWOT Analysis: This analysis helps us to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of any project, plan, or situation. It helps us to identify the advantages, disadvantages, risks, and potentials of any decision.

Handling Crises and Uncertainties

Crises are situations that threaten our survival, stability, or reputation. Uncertainties are situations that involve unpredictability, ambiguity, or complexity. Both crises and uncertainties can challenge our ability to cope and succeed.

To handle crises and uncertainties, you can use strategies such as:

Scenario Planning: This is a process of creating and analyzing possible future scenarios based on different assumptions and variables. It helps us to prepare for different outcomes and contingencies.
Risk Management: This is a process of identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks that may affect our goals or operations. It helps us to reduce the likelihood or impact of negative events.
Crisis Communication: This is a process of communicating effectively with our stakeholders during a crisis situation. It helps us to maintain trust, credibility, and reputation.

Crucialidade in Education and Learning

In the education field, It can help us to acquire knowledge and skills that are relevant and valuable. Some of the ways to apply It in education and learning are:

Focusing on the Essential Skills and Knowledge

Essential skills and knowledge are those that are necessary for our personal or professional development. They are also those that are in high demand or have a high return on investment.

To focus on the essential skills and knowledge, you can use methods such as:

Bloom’s Taxonomy: This is a framework that classifies learning objectives based on their cognitive complexity. It helps us to design learning activities that target different levels of thinking skills.
The Feynman Technique: This is a technique that involves explaining a concept in simple terms as if teaching it to someone else. It helps us to test our understanding and identify gaps in our knowledge.
The Spaced Repetition: This is a technique that involves reviewing information at increasing intervals over time. It helps us to enhance our memory retention and recall.

Developing a Growth Mindset and a Curious Attitude

A growth mindset is a belief that our abilities can be improved through effort and feedback. A curious attitude is a desire to learn new things and explore new possibilities.

To develop a growth mindset and a curious attitude, you can adopt practices such as:

Setting SMART Goals: SMART Goals are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They help us to plan, monitor, and evaluate our learning progress and outcomes.
Seeking Feedback and Improvement: Feedback is information that we receive from others or ourselves about our performance or behavior. It helps us to identify our strengths and weaknesses and to improve our skills and knowledge.
Asking Questions and Exploring Answers: Questions are inquiries that we make to seek information or clarification. They help us to stimulate our curiosity and to deepen our understanding. Answers are responses that we receive or discover to our questions. They help us to satisfy our curiosity and to expand our knowledge.

Seeking Feedback and Improvement

Personal development and well-being are the aspects of our lives that relate to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. They are also the aspects that determine our quality of life and happiness.

To apply crucialidade in personal development and well-being, you can use techniques such as:

Discovering and Living Your Values

Values are the principles or standards that guide our actions and decisions. They are also the sources of our motivation and fulfillment.

To discover your values, you can reflect on questions such as:

What is important to me in life?
What makes me happy or unhappy?
What do I admire or despise in others?

To live your values, you can align your goals, habits, and relationships with them. You can also express them clearly and consistently to yourself and others. You can also review them regularly and update them if necessary.

Setting and Achieving Meaningful Goals

Goals are the desired outcomes that we want to achieve in life. They are also the indicators of our success and progress.

To set meaningful goals, you can use criteria such as:

The SMART Criteria: SMART goals are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They help us to define, track, and evaluate our goals clearly and realistically.
The WHY Criteria: WHY goals are goals that are aligned with our core purpose, values, and passions. They help us to create goals that are meaningful, motivating, and fulfilling.

To achieve meaningful goals, you can use strategies such as:

The Action Plan: An action plan is a detailed plan that outlines the steps, resources, and deadlines for achieving a goal. It helps us to organize, execute, and monitor our actions effectively and efficiently.
The Accountability System: An accountability system is a system that involves setting expectations, reporting progress, and receiving feedback for achieving a goal. It helps us to stay focused, motivated, and accountable for our actions.

Practicing Mindfulness and Gratitude

Mindfulness is a state of awareness and attention to the present moment. Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for what we have or experience.

To practice mindfulness, you can use methods such as:

Meditation: Meditation is the practice of focusing on a single object, thought, or sensation for a period of time. It helps us to calm our minds, reduce stress, and increase concentration.
Breathing: Breathing is a process of inhaling and exhaling air through the nose or mouth. It helps us to regulate our emotions, relax our body, and energize our spirit.
Journaling: Journaling is a practice of writing down our thoughts, feelings, or experiences on a regular basis. It helps us to express ourselves, process our emotions, and gain insights.

To practice gratitude, you can use activities such as:

Listing: Listing is an activity of writing down or saying out loud the things that we are grateful for in life. It helps us to recognize the positive aspects of our lives and to feel happier.
Thanking: Thanking is an activity of expressing gratitude to someone who has helped us or made us happy in some way. It helps us to appreciate the kindness of others and to strengthen our relationships.
Giving: Giving is an activity of sharing something that we have or can do with someone who needs it or deserves it. It helps us to be generous, compassionate, and altruistic.

Conclusion and FAQs

Crucialidade is a philosophy that teaches us how to focus on what matters most in life. It helps us to be more clear, simple, effective, and fulfilled in everything we do. It also helps us to overcome the challenges of resistance, temptation, and uncertainty.

Crucialidade can be applied in any aspect of our lives, such as business, education, personal development, and well-being. By identifying and pursuing our core purpose, making smart and strategic decisions, handling crises and uncertainties, focusing on the essential skills and knowledge, developing a growth mindset and a curious attitude, seeking feedback and improvement, discovering and living our values, setting and achieving meaningful goals, and practicing mindfulness and gratitude, we can live more intentionally, purposefully, and happily.

FAQs

Q: How can I measure my level of crucialidade?

A: You can measure your level by using tools such as the Essentialism Assessment or the Crucialidade Scale. These tools can help you to evaluate how well you are focusing on the essential things in your life and how you can improve your crucialidade.

Q: How can I balance and flexibility?

A: You can balance and flexibility by being open to new information, perspectives, and opportunities that may change your understanding of what is essential or how to achieve it. You can also be adaptable to different situations and contexts that may require different approaches or solutions.

Q: How can I practice crucialidade with others?

A: You can practice with others by communicating your core purpose, values, and goals clearly and respectfully. You can also listen to and understand the core purpose, values, and goals of others. You can also collaborate and cooperate with others who share your vision or support your mission.

Q: How can I deal with the negative effects of crucialidade?

A: You can deal with the negative effects of crucialidade by being aware of the potential drawbacks or risks of being too focused on the essential things. These may include missing out on other opportunities, neglecting other aspects of your life, or alienating others who do not agree with you. You can also balance your crucialidade with other values such as diversity, harmony, and fun.