Library | Practice
Use AND Statements Generously
“And” statements kind of broke my brain. As a recovering black-and-white thinker, I’d tolerate “and” statements for the sake of philosophical depth, but at the end of the day we all need a definitive right/wrong answer don’t we? Oh, sure, sure we know the world isn’t all black and white, but ultimately only one is correct, right? I replay conversations and hear myself asking for clarity by saying, “so it’s either ____ or _____” and to be honest, I still catch myself in trying to reduce everything down to the right answer.
When I Use “And” Statements it reminds me that I am part of the messy, imperfect humankind, and I belong there (we all do). But when I Use “And” Statements Generously, I remind myself to include compassion, empathy, and kindness in how I view the messiness and imperfection. We are wonderfully contradictory and paradoxical creatures, and we are doing our best.
The next time you hear yourself saying, “ truth truth truth , BUT this this this ” just pay attention to what that feels like in your body. Tight? Narrow? Constricted?
If you switch it up with, “ truth truth truth , AND this this this ” I bet you’ll notice a sense of spaciousness around you. Less righteousness, more collaboration. Less judgement, more compassion. Less tension, more curiosity. Less weight, more freedom.