The Trap of Either/Or Thinking
We live in a world that loves absolutes. Either you’re successful or you’re failing. You’re strong or you’re weak. You’re happy or you’re sad. But life is full of contradictions that don’t fit into these neat little boxes.
The problem with either/or thinking is that it limits us. It makes us believe we have to pick a side, that we can’t hold space for complexity. This kind of thinking can hurt our relationships, keep us stuck in self-doubt, and prevent us from seeing the full picture of a situation.
Shift to a Both/And Mindset
So, how do we start embracing this idea? Here are three things you can do:
- Challenge Your Automatic Thinking. When you catch yourself thinking, “It has to be one way or the other,” stop and ask, Is it possible that both can be true? This simple question opens up new ways of seeing a situation.
- Practice Holding Space for Conflicting Emotions. The next time you feel happy and sad, excited and scared, or grateful and frustrated, remind yourself that it’s okay. Emotions are layered, and they can coexist.
- Extend Grace to Others. Allow the people in your life to be complex. Just because someone does something you don’t like doesn’t mean they are all bad. Just because someone succeeds doesn’t mean they have everything figured out.
Life is not black and white. It’s full of color, complexity, and contradictions. Two things can exist at the same time. And when we learn to accept that, we free ourselves from the mental prisons we’ve created. We allow ourselves to be human. We allow ourselves to grow.
I’d love to hear from you. What’s a contradiction you’ve had to learn to accept in your life? Drop a comment below. Let’s continue this conversation!
If this episode resonated with you, don’t forget to subscribe, share it with someone who needs to hear this, and leave a review. Until next time, keep growing, keep learning, and remember, two things can exist at the same time.
