Breakthrough
Newsletter
VOLUME XIV ISSUE NO. 8 | August 2022
Breakthrough
"Productive insight; clear (often sudden) understanding of a complex situation." Free Dictionary

Pop the bubble of conditioned thinking and emerge into the creative realm of "no absolutes," continuous change, uncertainty and unlimited possibilities.

Then, there can be innovation, adaptation and optimal performance.
Performance and Open-minded Mindfulness
Open-minded: questioning everything, accepting diversity and uncertainty.  

Mindful:  consciously aware; concentrated. 

Foundation for blending process, project, engagement and knowledge management into a cohesive approach to optimize performance.
Don't Overestimate the Power of Intellect
By George Pitagorsky
Is your Intellect a powerful servant or dictator. The intellect - the ability to conceptualize, reason, analyze, label, speak and write, apply logic, tell stories - can be either.
 
If you let your intellect be the ultimate authority, thinking that it is the real you, you are not using the power of the intellect to its fullest potential. If you let it, the intellect will minimize the importance of feelings and intuition. You may use the intellect to avoid unpleasant emotions, attempt to escape uncertainty, to be in control or to manipulate others.
 
We often equate intellect with high-IQ academics, scientists or philosophers. But anyone can have the intellect as their primary way of relating in the world. They think things out. When they think the intellect is in charge, concepts rule their life.
 
Balance
Balance the intellect with feelings and intuition, and you oversee a powerhouse team of advisors. As in the days of wise kings, you bring together your strategist, sorcerer, jester, intelligence officer, and treasurer to give their input. Then the wise king decides.
 
Let any one of the advisors decide, and the decision is likely to be unwisely biased.

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Self-Aware Living - Mindfulness, Meditation, Self-Awareness

We provide online courses, workshops, podcasts and other web content to individuals, organizations, and consultants with a focus on mindfulness, self-awareness, and process thinking. Our content is based on George Pitagorsky's personal...

Read more
self-awareliving.com
Who Is in Charge?
So, who is the wise king using the intellect to make decisions? Is that the real you or is it just another functionary? Science is telling us that the decision maker is just another part of the real you.
 
Who or what the real you may be, is a question you will have to answer for yourself. For now, know that whoever it is, it is wise to prioritize functional intelligence over IQ and experience over concept.
 
Functional Intelligence
Functional intelligence is “a practically applied integral intelligence; an intelligence that matters most in day-to-day living …, that enhances survival of the individual and the whole in as many contexts as possible.
 
In part, this sort of intelligence is measured by how it contributes to personal and collective wellbeing and, … And thus “functional” intelligence becomes our shorthand for a pragmatic, multidimensional perspective on being smart in an ever-enlarging context.”[1]
 
Step back to mindfully use the intellect intelligently. Is the intellect given too much power, too little? How can you adjust to find the right balance?
 
Put in its place as a member of your council of advisors, the intellect is a superpower. Bring together and respect the powers of all the aspects of your mind, your intuition, and all your intelligences - emotional, social, spiritual, physical, etc. - to enhance your ability to optimize the decisions you make and the way you live.
 


Emotional Support for Ukraine  
       
To support people experiencing the horrors taking place in Ukraine, we have published and wish to distribute freely

"How to Manage Difficult Emotions and How to Support Others"

in English and Ukrainian. Please pass the toolkit on to anyone who can benefit from it or can distribute it further.


Emotional Support for Ukraine is a small ad hoc group of coaches seeking to help relieve the suffering of those under fire, refugees, and helpers across the world. 
How to be Happy Even When You Are Sad, Mad or Scared:

How to be happy...How to be Happy Even When You Are Sad, Mad or Scared is available on Amazon.com. It is a book for children of all ages (including those in adult bodies). Buy it for the children in your life so they can be better able to “feel and deal” - feel and accept their emotions and deal with them in a way that avoids being driven by them. You can order the book at https://www.amazon.com/How-Happy-Even-When-Scared/dp/1072233363
Performance and Open-minded Mindfulness
Open-minded: questioning everything, accepting diversity and uncertainty. 
 
Mindful: consciously aware; concentrated. 

Foundation for blending process, project, engagement and knowledge management into a cohesive approach to optimize performance.
By George Pitagorsky

Success is measured in how well and how regularly you meet expectations. But what exactly are expectations, and how do you effectively manage them when multiple priorities and personalities are involved?
Using the case study of a Project Manager coordinating an organizational transition, this Managing Expectations book explores how to apply a mindful, compassionate, and practical approach to satisfying expectations in any situation. George Pitagorsky describes how to make sure expectations are rational, mutually understood, and accepted by all those with a stake in the project. This process relies on blending a crisp analytical approach with the interpersonal skills needed to negotiate win-win understandings of what is supposed to be delivered, by when, for how much, by who, and under what conditions.
Managing Conflict in Projects
By George Pitagorsky

Managing Conflict in Projects: Applying Mindfulness and Analysis for Optimal Results by George Pitagorsky charts a course for identifying and dealing with conflict in a project context.

Pitagorsky states up front that conflict management is not a cookbook solution to disagreement-a set of prescribed actions to be applied in all situations. His overall approach seeks to balance two aspects of conflict management: analysis based on a codified process and people-centered behavioral skills.

The book differentiates conflict resolution and conflict management. Management goes beyond resolution to include relationship building that may serve to avoid conflict or facilitate resolution if it occurs.
 
The Zen Approach to Project Management 
By George Pitagorsky

Projects are often more complex and stressful than they need to be. Far too many of them fail to meet expectations. There are far too many conflicts. There are too few moments of joy and too much anxiety. But there is hope. It is possible to remove the unnecessary stress and complexity. This book is about how to do just that. It links the essential principles and techniques of managing projects to a "wisdom" approach for working with complex, people-based activities.