Willingness, Openness, and Acceptance

Rather than embracing the moments at work and letting them be open and vivid, why do we gather the strength to force them into crisis?

Perhaps, our stubborn willfulness for action, accomplishment of outputs, and the desire for change are how we look at everything, all the time.

Yet, the more I read about Liang Wenfeng (founder of DeepSeek.ai) and how he does what he does, the more it becomes clear that willingness, openness, and acceptance are better alternatives for success and fulfillment.

Rather than forcing outcomes or clinging to control, it is developing a mindset of curiosity and receptivity towards work that unlocks the potential for breakthroughs and transformations, as seen with DeepSeek.

Willingness

Willingness is your will to accept this moment as it is, in its full flavor, texture, and sensations (and sometimes embargoes!).

“Willingness is saying “yes” to the mystery of being alive in each moment.” – Marsha Linehan

Time is either an illusion or reality depending on the meaning you give it. If you are focused on the here and now, then time becomes a reality – in service of you. If you are focused on the past and future, then time becomes an illusion – to your detriment.

Willingness is the control you have over time to help you focus on the here and now.

Openness

Openness is bringing your entire mind and body to the task at hand. Not your biases, goals, desires, or even skills – but bringing yourself as you are to the task at hand.

Being open allows for clarity, creativity, and curiosity to be expressed, unfiltered. In other words, openness facilitates disruptive thinking.

Outputs and outcomes happen as a consequence of being open, not the other way around.

Acceptance

Acceptance is intelligent courageousness.

It is courageous because saying “okay”, “alright”, or “I don’t know” are very hard, especially when you carry the burden of experience.

Acceptance is intelligence because it is not about “I”, “me”, or “mine” – it is silencing the ego and yourself by refraining from immediate actions, words, or ideas to better plan and succeed later.

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🍪 Fortune Cookie:

“China’s AI can’t be in the position of following forever. We often say that there is a gap of one or two years between China’s AI and the United States, but the real gap is the difference between originality and imitation.” – Liang Wenfeng

Willingness to remain in the present moment, acceptance of the situation as it is, and being open are gateway to original thinking and mindful action.

Mindful Productivity is the path to the practice of developing these skills – to do more meaningful work with less.