Navigating Picts
PICTs are the Persistent, Inter-dependent Contradictory Tensions that we encounter daily. Often referred to as polarities, paradoxes, dialectics, many but not all of these dualities have several key properties. When you encounter them, most tend to apply some often unproductive either/or thinking but when you identify them and understand their properties, rather than falling into what you do, you can more thoughtfully and systematically address. This provides a highly effective path towards more productive mindsets. This is done by understanding it's structure and relationships.
By definition, two interdependent contradictory attributes but in addition, the intensity or magnitude of each trait makes a substantial difference. A PICT, has the following characteristics:
When you have high amounts of each attribute, both together in balance constitute a major strength or capability
When you have low amounts of each, there may be some minor strength due but overall, it’s a weakness, known as a balanced deficiency.
When one is high or strong and the other is low or weak, you have an imbalanced condition that can represent an dynamic imbalance or passive imbalance
Typically one of these attributes is the action-oriented trait and one is the supportive trait.
On nearly all of this, we tend to have our own natural tendency that under normal stress, when we are trying to get things done, shows up. For many these don't change much in their lives, for others, they can change substantially with trauma or concerted deliberate effort.
For many of these, when we are imbalanced, stress can cause an emotional flip, commonly called the amygdala response, that is short in duration, emotional, usually counter-productive (but at the same time a type of defense mechanism). The flip is a type of release which is done and then you revert back.