Reminding Yourself: Two Things Can Be True

If you've ever made your way to a ski hill on a powder day, you know that you can be so close and yet so far away. Frustrating as the long drive may be, it teaches us something- two things can be true at the very same time. This is as relevant at work as it is on that car ride…

You can be on track towards amazing outcomes and still feel behind. 
You can challenge how something is communicated and still believe in the message. 
You can love working for an organization and have strong feedback for leadership. 
You can see the mountain and have a long way to drive. 

By recognizing this, we welcome in our full humanity, push on judgement associated with the challenging side, and generally reach the strongest result far more quickly.

When I entered the classroom back in 2003, I had four grades in one room while teaching all core subjects. To lesson plan for this reality, I often relied on metacognitive tools that could be used across grades and subjects, one of them being the good old Venn diagram. I propose that we reclaim this tool in our processing of our most coherent selves- where are the places where two things are true at the same time? And what do we learn from the overlap?  I believe that the overlap demonstrates itself in the ways we are showing up for ourselves, our people, and our work.

We live in a world of dichotomies and, in times of stress, it's easy to fall into either or ways of thinking. When you feel yourself or someone on your team residing in that space, find power in a pause to remind yourself that two things can be true. Take a moment to recognize, reflect, and respond; because the way we work matters.

Onward,
Rebecca