There are many benefits in accessing this library. One of the benefits concerns the availability of several digital versions of books I have authored while serving as curator of this library. Each of the books concerns an important psychological issue that is now confronting our society. These books are available at no cost to you. Below you will find several recent books that are FREE OF CHARGE. Just download these as pdfs and enjoy . . .
Dancing Between the Raindrops: Polystasis, Character, and the Psychodynamics of Anticipation in a VUCA-Plus World
Author: William Bergquist, Ph.D.
Date of Publication: January 15, 2026
Preview
We are living in a society that confronts us every moment with raindrop challenges—be they environmental, economic, or political. Somehow, we have to live and work around these challenges, rather than being trapped or frozen in anxiety and despair regarding the conditions in which each of these challenges now operates. Conditions such as volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, turbulence, and contradiction.
In essence, complexity (C) concerns the many elements and dynamic interaction among elements that have to be considered, while Volatility (V) refers to the rate and shifting rate of change among the elements. The other two terms have to do with epistemology (acquisition of knowledge and definition of reality). Ambiguity (A) concerns the assessment of both the evidence available regarding reality and the meaning assigned to this reality. The fourth term, Uncertainty (U) concerns the stability of any assessment made about reality. Does reality change over a short period of time? Why do an extensive assessment if our world is constantly shifting? VUCA is deservedly becoming the coin of the realm among contemporary organizational and societal analysts.
I add two other conditions that are prevalent in mid-21st-century life. They are turbulence and contradiction (the “plus” in VUCA-Plus). Some things are rapidly moving, while others are engaged in cyclical movement under turbulent conditions. Other things are not moving at all or moving chaotically. The systemic Impact concerns the operations of a world in which four systems operate simultaneously. These four systems create the “white water” world prevalent in mid-21st-century societies (Vaill, 1989/2008). Navigation of a white-water environment requires an ongoing search for balance and direction, which in turn requires ongoing attention to the shifting conditions of this environment.
Contradiction is to be found at every corner of our mid-21st-century societies. We find this condition existing in contradictory advertisements for health-style remedies, romantic getaways, and many pathways to happiness. Even more profound sources of contradiction are found in politics and social policy. We often face a choice between two options, each with both an upside and a downside. Furthermore, the achievement of one is likely to reduce the achievement of the other. Our governmental leaders solve a major social problem. In doing so, they increase the national debt. The need for control of pornography on the Internet is great, but so is the need for an Internet that is free of constraints and values imposed by one group of “believers.”
In the rainy weather of mid-21st-century life, we face many difficult choices that often lead to negative outcomes in our personal lives and our collective lives.
I propose in this book that we can “dance” around these big raindrops by embracing a dynamic, feedback process that I have identified as Polystasis. Unlike the usual pull toward return to a state of homeostasis, I am proposing that we have the opportunity to live with and even survive in a state where the baseline is always changing (Poly-stasis), and where we are guided by a psychosocial template that provides us with guidance as we receive and respond to feedback from the VUCA-Plus world in which we are operating.
Polystasis blends the concept of Statics (stabilizing structures) with that of Dynamics (adaptive processes). Operating in human systems, we are guided by certain core outcomes that do not readily change (statics); however, we must also be open to modifying these guiding outcomes as our environment changes. The static notion of homeostasis is inaccurate—especially when applied in our VUCA-Plus environment. It is in our attunement to feedback arriving on an ongoing basis from the world in which we live that we can be adaptive and can “learn into the future” (Scharmer, 2009). We can anticipate the rain and prepare to dance around the raindrops . . .
As a psychologist who has been influenced by the Neo-Freudian theories of those aligned with ego psychology and those operating from an object relations perspective, I believe that Polystasis involves both the brain and heart. Both cognition and emotions. The interweaving of thinking and feeling. I am particularly intrigued with the recent “discovery” that regret might be a more motivating emotion than either gain or loss. We try to avoid making any decision that we will later regret. We hate to miss an “opportunity” or to shrink from taking bold actions. For example, a sports fan would rather watch a game that their team loses than fail to watch the game. While witnessing a win is most gratifying, witnessing a loss is preferred to not witnessing the game at all.
From a polystatic perspective, the avoidance of regret would be motivated by painful anticipation of some beneficial event or experience of which we have failed to avail ourselves. We can imagine hearing about a game after it is over and wishing that we were there. Second-hand accounts are rarely satisfying. We might even be annoyed that someone other than us was at the game and doing the recounting.
We can apply the polystatic perspective to matters of potentially greater importance. Do we accept the invitation to participate in a meaningful discussion at our company’s or community’s decision-making table? We can anticipate our feelings of being left out if we don’t attend. What if the decision was to do something of which we don’t approve? Regret-filled emotions would course through our mind, body (and soul) alongside feelings of guilt and/or annoyance regarding the decision that was made. We must attend the meeting, even if we anticipate that it could be boring or that our input will be ignored. Other priorities are set aside just so we have no regrets regarding the meeting. We don’t want the rain to fall as we sit outside the meeting room. . . .
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The New (Ab)Normal
Author: William Bergquist, Ph.D.
Date of Publication: April 20, 2025
Preview
In my book on the challenging [(ab)normal] world we are now facing, I have proposed that collective anxiety (angst) is linked specifically to six conditions: volatility (V), uncertainty (U), complexity (C), ambiguity (A), turbulence (+) and contradiction (+) (VUCA-Plus). These six conditions make the amelioration of Angst much more difficult. This cognitive and affective difficulty, in turn, tends to pull us toward simplistic, reality-denying, and polarizing beliefs and solutions. There is an important ramification here for those who seek to lead 21st-century organizations and social systems.
The fundamental challenges in a VUCA-Plus environment involve determining what is “real” and how one forms beliefs, as well as predicting and making decisions based on beliefs and an assessment of this elusive reality. These thoughtful reflections are not easily engaged when the waves are crashing over us. We are anxious and exhausted. It is tempting to seek an easier way to meet mid-21st-century challenges. An alternative exists right before our “eyes” (and hearts).
Rather than confronting the challenges of VUCA-Plus, we can find ourselves in a real (or invented) land of serenity. Instead of volatility (V) we find stability (S). Uncertainty (U) is replaced by Certainty (C). We find SC rather than VU. This is a world of Simplicity (S) rather than Complexity (C), while the ambiguity (A) of VUCA-Plus is replaced with clarity (C). Another SC replaces CA. We find a two-fold SC. It is SC².
Serenity loves redundancy – and we have it with two SCs! Dwelling in this wonderland, we no longer have to navigate a turbulent environment. Rather there is calm. There is also consistency rather than contradiction. We can add calm and consistency to the world of SC². We now find the compelling “charm” of our six alternatives to VUCA-Plus in full operation. SC²+ is alive and well!
Serenity is achieved when these SC²+ conditions converge. SC²+ provides a formula for the achievement of Serenity. Together these six conditions of serenity yield something of a utopian environment. Stability, certainty, simplicity, clarity, calm, and consistency perhaps even offer us a touch of Eden . . .without the snake.
In this book, I offer alternatives to Serenity: we must transform these conditions into opportunities for anchoring, curiosity, and enablement. We must entertain multiple perspectives, engage with others in collective learning, and integrate emerging polarities.
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