The Benefits of Adopting a Paradox Mindset

The power of embracing ‘yes, and’ rather than ‘either/or’ thinking.

Our natural human tendency is to categorize things and events as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It feels incongruous to entertain two or more conflicting notions at once.

And yet, there is liberation in embracing paradox. In holding space for more than one truth to exist at once.

To me, embracing paradox feels like a more truthful experience of life.

A few examples

Here is a small selection of paradoxal emotional experiences I’ve had of late.

Joy (friends catching up in a distant city) and jealousy (I wasn’t there).

Grief (the end of a relationship), relief (ditto) and pride (I had the courage to leave).

Delight (finding out a dear friend is getting married) and sorrow (knowing my relationship with him will likely change or even fade as a result).

Excitement (seeing family members at Christmas) and resistance (the prospect of the inevitable conflict that will arise).

Paradox: a definition

The dictionary defines paradox as “a logically self-contradictory statement, or a statement that runs…