Breakthrough
Newsletter
VOLUME XII ISSUE NO. 8 | AUGUST 2020
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.
Foundations for Achieving Happiness - What's Your
Worldview? 
By George Pitagorsky
Being conscious of mental models, our beliefs about how things are and why they are as they are, leads to the freedom to be creatively responsive.  

This Breakthrough article further explores mental models and the way they influence the way we think, speak, and behave. Here we will focus on the overarching model, meta-model, which sets a foundation for effective living.  

Other models focus on specific subjects such as the way people see people on welfare either as lazy cheats or people deserving the support of the more privileged. That model may be related to other models having to do with the role of government, work values, gratitude, generosity, and compassion.

World View
Following is a worldview model implied by science, psychology, and wisdom teachings: 

  1. We are part of a complex system of interdependent people, places, and things
  2. We are not in control.  Change and uncertainty are facts of life. We live in a continuously flowing process.
  3. Everything, including ourselves, is subject to change, impermanent 
  4. Everything is caused by something - what we think, say, and do matters
  5. The environment, body and brain are influenced by our thoughts, perceptions and behaviors.  And, our thoughts, perceptions, relationships, and behaviors are conditioned by the environment, body and brain 
  6. We can learn and change the way we think and act  
  7. There is awareness beyond intellect. One can step back to be objectively aware of their process while being fully engaged in it
  8. The intellect is a powerful and useful tool but is not 'in charge.' It does not see the full picture unless it is paired with intuition. There is more to our process than meets the eye
  9. Compassion, empathy, loving kindness, and equanimity are inherent and natural parts of our being, though often covered up by obstructive habits, models and beliefs
  10. No model is 100% true, though many are useful.  
Perceiving the world through a filter like this reduces the stress of having unrealistic expectations and promotes the open mindedness, flexibility and resiliency that enables living optimally in any situation. 

Add-on's and Alternatives
Some models add the belief that there are multiple lifetimes effected by the way we behave in prior lifetimes.  

Some say that there is an absolute, boundless realm of clarity and emptiness that is the ground within which the illusion of the world of self and other arises.  
Some believe in afterlife, heaven, hell and a higher power that directs, guides, judges, rewards and punishes.  

Your Model
What is your overriding model, your belief system?

Does it guide you towards peace, happiness, compassion, and skillful action?

Do you think you don’t have one? You might be surprised to find that there is one that subconsciously influences the way you think, speak and act.

Is your model one you simply absorbed from parents and culture?  

Is it open to question and change?  

Is it effective? Does it work toward freeing you of mental slavery so you can be creatively responsive?  

Is it in-sync with reality? Does it rely on your personal experience, moderated by constant reality checking?  
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.