Mental models are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action" (Senge, 2006).

 

One of my mental models that makes me different from my friends is the way I process life. My friend likes to go out to bars, and clubs, and go to parties but I like to be at home because I did all those things before I had kids. Some of my friends still have a young mentality and I am at a point in my life where I want more and I am concentrating on my kids, my career, and my education. My friend just wants to have fun and that is where we have our arguments because they say I am boring and do not want to do anything but I am trying to accomplish things so My kids and myself will be okay in life. The sad part is all my friends are older than me and the way they process things is the way a young person thinks and I process life differently than they process life.

The second mental model that makes me different from my family is I am very outspoken and I say what is on my mind my brother is the opposite he will let things bother him until he gets fed up and then he will say something. I am the type of person if I see something that is not right I will speak up and my brother is the quiet one which makes me mad because I feel that people take advantage of him because he is very quiet and the other hand lets nothing get past me which is a bad thing sometimes. I am working on myself being very outspoken because it can hurt me in the long run when it comes to certain situations.

The mental models affect my friendship because now they very seldom ask me to go places with them which I do not mind. My friends and I still communicate but we do not go to a lot of places together and the places we do go are for the mature crowd. A couple of my friends understand how I feel and they have started cutting down on partying and focusing more on their life. I feel that maybe every once in a while, I could have gone out with them and explained to them that this s not every weekend thing and that I will go out with you at least once every other week. I feel that we have been friends for so long that I can meet them halfway so that we can continue to do things that friends do to have fun. I also instead we can have a girl's night where we stay in the house and enjoy ourselves by playing games and watching movies.

The mental model that affected the interaction with my brother is he tries to resolve the problem when he sees it happening so that I will have to say nothing. My brother works with me on how to control what I am thinking and to think before I speak. I know that my brother wants the best for me and he does not want me to miss opportunities in life because I speak before I think. So now I am working on myself by thinking before I speak or I just say nothing at all.

I feel that understanding the mental model can help me become a better problem solver because it helps me look at the bigger picture and it gives me the opportunity to look at other ways to solve the problem. The mental model helps me become better with decision-making because it gives me the opportunity to think and process things before I speak or make a decision that can harm me or somebody else.

Reference:

Garrity, E. J. (2018).Using systems thinking to understand and enlarge mental models: Helping the transition to a sustainable world.Systems,6(2), 15-31. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems6020015 Senge, P. M. (2006). Mental models. InThe fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization(pp. 129-162). Doubleday. Yang, M. M., Yang, F., Cui, T., & Cheng, Y.-C. (2019).Analyzing.Australian Journal of Management,44(3), 495-512. https://doi.org/10.1177/0312896218823831

 

Questions:

1. Relate your own experiences with mental models and their effect on your interactions with others to what your colleague shared.
2. Provide a different or expanded perspective by offering an insight that you gained by reading your colleague's conclusions.
3. Ask a question that will help your colleague think about their conclusions more deeply or broadly. Make sure you provide context and/or references based on the class readings, your own investigation, or your experience.