The Power of Both/And

Something I've been pondering lately: 

How can we find, create, and share joy—while also honoring the suffering around us?

One concept that comes to mind is the idea of Both/And —the idea that two things can be true at once, even if they are different or opposing. 

Embracing Both/And thinking helps us move beyond Either/Or mindsets, expanding our capacity as individuals and leaders.

If you’re looking to bring more joy to yourself or others, here are a few simple ways—each inspired by friends and neighbors in recent weeks.

• Drop off a host/hostess gift before the gathering. I recently hosted a small gathering. A few days before, a friend who was attending dropped off a heart-shaped container of strawberries; some meltable chocolate; and a couple of related festive treats. It was lovely, creative, and functional—it gave me the option to make chocolate-covered strawberries for the gathering if I wanted to, or to enjoy the treats on my own in the days leading up to the event.

• Share a photo of an everyday pleasure. A friend texts me a weekly photo of a coffee and pastry from a favorite coffee shop/bakery. Even though we aren't having coffee and pastries together, it makes it feel like we are. This small moment of connection is consistently a highlight of the week.

• Cultivate surprise and delight. For nearly any holiday (and sometimes not for a holiday), one of our neighbor friends often drops off a little treat —sometimes placed neatly on the doormat, and other times tucked sneakily into the seat of the stroller. We can do the same as leaders –by leaving a handwritten note on someone's desk, or dropping a small surprise in the mail if we work on a distributed team.

• Share your favorite thing with others. Send a link to a favorite article, new show, book you have recently enjoyed, or a song that is on repeat. Bonus: create a list of favorites across your team or your friend group —for example, in the form of a shared playlist.